Zach Williams Says Life Is ‘So Much Better’ After Reconnecting With His Faith
By Movieguide® Contributor
Christian artist Zach Williams is sharing his faith journey and how a fellow Christian artist helped set him on his path to God.
“It’s a pretty incredible story, what God’s done in my life, throughout my life,” he told CBN.
Williams began using drugs when he was in high school, a situation that only got worse when he began playing with a band in his 20s.
“We started traveling and touring, which — that just led me down an even darker path,” he explained. “I thought, in order to play music, I needed to live a certain lifestyle. If I was gonna be in a rock band, that meant you did drugs, and you use alcohol on a daily basis, and you live this reckless lifestyle.”
In 2012, while traveling with his band, Williams heard “Redeemed” by Big Daddy Weave on the radio.
“And, man, that song just hit me; it struck a chord,” he said. “I listened to the lyrics when I got to the hotel room, and I called my wife, and I said, ‘Hey, I’m done. I’m out of here,’ and she couldn’t believe it. But I came home from that tour and quit my band, and I canceled all my shows.”
Today, Williams makes Christian music and says his life is “so much better.”
“There’s conviction on my life that I didn’t have before,” he said. “So, for me, I love sharing those stories with the world. I love writing songs from places in my life that I’ve been hurt or I’ve experienced joy. I think, for me, [sharing my story] is a good thing.”
The singer spoke to The Alabama Baptist about the impact connecting with listeners who can relate to his story has had on him.
“Over the past few years I’ve met all kinds of people who are dealing with addictions, cancer and other very serious situations,” Williams shared. “These are the people I write songs for because I can relate to them. We all have similar pasts and similar scars — I’m just an average guy who is struggling like everyone else. The folks coming to the shows don’t get a chance to share their own stories on a bigger stage, and I feel like it’s a huge opportunity for me to share songs that they can relate to and journeys they have walked through.”
Williams isn’t just telling his story through his music — his first book, “Rescue Story,” will be released Feb. 27.
“Resilient hope despite the mistakes of your past: that’s what I want people to take away from my new book,” he wrote on Instagram. “If there’s one thing I know is true, it’s that I will make mistakes… Thank God for his grace and for giving me a platform to share the hope I found—and you can find—in Him.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Williams:
Two-time Grammy award-winning artist Zach Williams recently opened up about how his dream to play professional basketball led to his music career…
He played for NorthWest Arkansas Community College and hoped to go professional. However, he found himself drawn into the school’s party scene.
“I found myself partying every day, trying to outdo all the guys I lived with or hung out with,” Williams revealed. “Every day was just a competition to see who could party harder, and I carried that into my life for probably 13 years.”
“Drugs, alcohol and injuries ended his sports dream, but led him to finding a music career,” Sports Spectrum reported.
“While redshirting, he gravitated toward his roommate’s guitar. ‘As soon as I picked it up, I was like, Man, there’s something here with this guitar. I can just feel something,’ Williams remembers. ‘I started playing that guitar, and I just fell in love with music,’” per K-LOVE.
