Nick Shakoour, who portrays Zebedee in “The Chosen,” is sharing the full story of his journey from war-torn Lebanon to a life-changing encounter with God in his memoir, Transformer: Awakening From a Spiritual Coma.
As a child in Beirut during civil war, Shakoour remembers missiles falling from the sky and buildings exploding just feet away. Yet alongside the violence, he saw tight-knit community and protection. Looking back, he writes that a “protective power” seemed to encapsulate him, preserving his life through chaos.
That sense of divine protection followed him into adulthood, culminating in a dramatic experience at a church conference in Texas after he had reached what he described as an unbearably dark place. “I showed up completely disarmed and broken,” he said, explaining that while he wasn’t suicidal, the darkness felt overwhelming.
After the conference ended, a small group prayed over him. As they anointed him and prayed in tongues, Shakoour said, “My cells started to vibrate at a very rapid pace.” He described sensing a transparent presence of God rising from the ground, not a physical figure, but an overwhelming manifestation of God’s personality and love. “When you encounter Him, He becomes everything you’ve ever wanted,” he said.
Shakoour believes he met God through the Holy Spirit in that moment, calling it the turning point of his life. While writing his memoir, he said he realized God had been present all along — from surviving bombs in Lebanon to landing his unexpected role on “The Chosen.” Even after what he thought was a failed audition, creator Dallas Jenkins cast him, seeing something authentic in his performance.
Shakoour now hopes his story inspires others to seek God for themselves. “God has been there the entire time,” he said, describing his journey as a true spiritual awakening.
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