Rocker-Turned-Christian Musician Zach Williams Breaks Free From Drugs and Alcohol With 'Chain Breaker' (Interview)
While on tour and driving about eight hours across the country, Williams said he removed his headphones for a moment and overheard the song, "I Am Redeemed" by Big Daddy Weave on the radio.
"It spoke to me in that moment and God told me: 'I've given you a gift; I've given you all these things and this is what you're going to use it for for the rest of your life?' Then I called my wife from the hotel room and told her that whenever this tour was over I was going to quit my band and come home and start going to church," Williams told CP.
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"I think that was the moment for me when everything changed and turned around.
God's timing was perfect and his encounter with God that day on his tour bus didn't only save Williams but also saved his marriage and family.
"When I came home I didn't only cancel a few shows but I quit the band. It was a bad breakup," he said.
As a member of the band for many years his sudden departure definitely caused some tension but Williams was certain that it was the right thing to do for his family and future.
"I remember coming home from that tour and it was the first time I had ever really fallen on my hands and knees and cried out to the Lord. 'I'm sick of this; I'm sick of what I'm doing, I'm sick of my life, make this new.' There was a freedom in that that I've never experienced before. Immediately, I felt like everything was going to be alright. I didn't have any reservations that what I was doing was wrong," Williams said.
From that moment forward anytime his faith was tested he said the Lord would miraculously show him favor and open doors to let him know that he was now on the right path and shouldn't have any reservations.
"When I met the Lord that hole was filled in my life. I even quit playing music for a while after I got saved because I was happy and didn't think I needed any of that anymore. It wasn't until six or eight months after I got saved that I started writing Christian songs and God started opening up doors for me that I never thought were possible."
Because Williams worked on construction sites for years with his father who always played Christian music on the job site, when doors began to open for Williams and he was asked to be a worship leader at a church, he knew all the songs in the repertoire by heart.
"I look back now and I know God was preparing me. He was putting those songs on my heart and in my head," he said.
Life for Williams then started to become one leap of faith after the other. And perhaps the most amazing part of his story is that the Lord used a worship song to help lead him back to the throne of grace and in turn the singer is now using his gifts to do that very same thing for others.
Williams eventually became the campus director and worship leader of Central Baptist Church's new campus in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Over time, he began to write songs with popular songwriters like Jonathan Smith and Mia Fieldes. That led the three of them to write his Christian radio hit song, "Chain Breaker."
"I was able to be a part of a song now that just like I heard 'Redeemed,' there's somebody now that could hear this song and I can do the same thing for them," Williams said, celebrating the achievement. "Then to be asked to go out on Big Daddy Weave's tour in January is another God moment."
Big Daddy Weave is well aware of the impact their song has made on Williams, and even though they haven't yet met in person, Williams is looking forward to being on the road touring with them — this time living for Jesus.
Williams says his intention for writing "Chain Breaker" was to reach both churchgoers and those who never go to church.
"My ministry now is to just tell the world about what God has done in my life and hopefully that will bring other people to Jesus. I'm just a normal guy just like anybody else. I don't feel like I'm changing at all other than the fact that God is giving me opportunities and I don't want to miss those opportunities of where I can go out and share who Jesus is and what He's done in my life," Williams explained.
"I don't want to take it for granted and I don't want to forget that He's the one in control of it and I'm just a small part of this big plan that He's got. I'm here to be a vessel, so if He continues to bless me with songs then I'll sing these songs and go out and try to reach as many people as I possibly can."
"If I'm going to go out and play in a club or a bar or place like that it's going to be intentionally to go out and do that for bringing people to Jesus. It's all for a purpose."
To get a copy of Williams' new EP, Chain Breaker, click here. Check out his video for the title track below.
