Survivor

We can have hope in the Lord - He is able to bring freedom and true life change as we devote our lives to loving and serving Him. Psalm 40 helps us to see God as our rescuer:
(1) I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth-- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.

We have the promise of a Savior who hears us; He has heard our call to Him when we desired to be saved, and He hears us in our time of need.  He walks with us even in our most difficult circumstances and provides joy in our hearts even when we might tend to lose hope.  He is the One who calls us into freedom from the power of sin and death and provides us with the power to overcome what would hold us back.  He desires for our spirits to be united with Him so that we can walk in His love.

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If we have been born again, we have been rescued from the power of the enemy, and God will perhaps use us to proclaim His message of freedom and rescue from the power of sin and death.
Psalm 82 states:
3 Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
4 Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.

There's a line in a rather familiar Christian song that refers to Jesus as a "prison-shaking savior."  A Faithwire story points out that line is from the Zach Williams song, Chain Breaker, a song performed recently in Harding Prison in the Nashville area and included on a new album called, Survivor: Live from Harding Prison. 

The Faithwire story quotes Dove Award nominee Williams in a recent story:

“I grew up an hour from where Johnny Cash was born, in Arkansas, and obviously that’s one of my favorite records,” Williams told Faithwire of Cash’s “At Folsom Prison” album. “When we worked on the ‘Chain Breaker’ record, we were always talking, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be cool one day to go in and record some songs in a prison?’”

On his website, we can read this from Zach:

"As a songwriter, seeing God use the songs I write and my experiences to show His grace to others is one of the biggest blessings I have ever received." He adds, "A little over five years ago, I visited a prison in Arkansas with my wife and shared the story of what God was doing in our lives. What I experienced that day is something I will never forget. God broke my heart for these men and women. They had, ultimately, just made bad decisions which is something that I completely related to and for me, that experience gave a whole new meaning to the word 'grace.' Ever since then, I have felt a calling to share my music and stories with men and women in prison in the hopes that lives can be changed by the power of the gospel. My prayer is to see chains broken and walls shattered. God has a plan for each and every one of our lives but we have to fully surrender to the cross before those plans are revealed."

Zach Williams will be performing tonight in Nashville as part of the GMA Dove Awards presentation, which can be seen on TBN this Sunday night, October 21 at 8:00pm CT.  He is nominated for six awards, including: Song of the Year (for Old Church Choir), Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year, and Artist of the Year.  He won New Artist of the Year last year, and was part of the opening performance of Chain Breaker to lead off last year's show.

Zach and his wife, Crystal, according to Faithwire, had been involved in prison ministry for a number of years when a ministry reached out to Zach.  The story states:

Nashville-based prison ministry Men of Valor, whose volunteers were already using some of Williams’ songs, reached out to the 37-year-old singer and asked if he would be interested in performing live for a group of inmates.

“You could tell every one of these guys were just grateful we were there,” Williams reflected. “They don’t get stuff like this very often. We weren’t going in and trying to exploit these guys or just do something to make a record. We just wanted to go in and hang out and play some music for these guys.”

Zach's website says that, "Men of Valor, which began in 1997, reconciles incarcerated men with their families, to society, and to God by providing aftercare and re-entry services 24/7."  Williams, on his site, thanked the men of the prison for "being a part of this record."  He further said: "It was an honor and a privilege to share my heart with you. Thank you so much for allowing an outsider in. Through God, there is truly freedom behind bars. Through Him and only Him, we are survivors."

In considering Zach Williams' story, we can think about a number of concepts.  One deals with freedom for the captives.  Even those behind prison bars can experience spiritual freedom in Christ - that is why prison ministry is so valuable.  And, the change that Christ can make in a person who is imprisoned could perhaps lead to his or her early release and the ability to re-enter society as a contributing member.  There is much to be made of the power of a transformed life.

We can also be reminded that God may sometimes call us to go to tough places, but He gives us the grace to go there and a willing spirit to minister.  Jesus spoke in Matthew 25 about going to "the least of these," which includes those in prison.  When we open our hearts to what God wants to do through our lives, there are incredible things that He will do.

Finally, the title song of that prison project is the same song found on his album, Chain Breaker.  He states:

Now I'm alive and born again
Rescued from the grip of sin
God your love came crashing in
And pulled me out of the fire
I'm a survivor

That's rather compatible with these words:

If you need freedom or saving
He’s a prison-shaking Savior
If you’ve got chains
He’s a chain breaker

The message is that of freedom: we have been rescued by Christ; we have been released from the chains of sin or whatever may hold us back from enjoying a full and fulfilling relationship with God. He provides the resources we need in order to experience the freedom that He has promised, which comes from surrendering our lives to Him.