Road To Redemption
Road To Redemption
Benny Di Chiara Journey of Faith and Music
Benny Di Chiara, frontman of the Christian rock band Empowered, brings raw authenticity and spiritual fire to this powerful conversation about redemption, healing, and perseverance through life's most challenging battles.
The journey begins with Benny's harrowing account of surviving a traumatic brain injury in 2016 that left him with a double skull fracture, frontal lobe damage, and internal bleeding. Through months of grueling recovery where he slept 20 hours daily and lost 35 pounds, Benny experienced a supernatural encounter—God speaking audibly in his living room, promising "huge and great plans" and gifting him lyrics for what would become their song based on Jeremiah 29:11.
Despite permanent loss of smell and taste, Benny embodies what he calls "taking the win"—recognizing God's partial victories instead of focusing on unanswered prayers. This perspective has carried him through creating three albums post-injury and fuels Empowered's upcoming release "SALT" (Safety, Anointed, Legitimate, Timing), scheduled to drop mid-June.
What makes this conversation particularly compelling is Benny's transparent admission that his family currently faces intense spiritual warfare. Rather than sugar-coating his Christian journey, he reveals the emotional and physical exhaustion these battles bring while maintaining his spiritual fervor. "Spiritually, I am on fire, and do not contest me," he declares, challenging believers to move beyond Sunday-only faith into daily communion with Jesus.
For musicians and creatives, Benny offers unflinching wisdom: "If you are a Christian artist, be ALL of that." He rejects the divided loyalty of trying to serve both mainstream acceptance and gospel truth, instead embracing Empowered's calling to explicitly point people to Jesus through their music and personal ministry after shows.
Whether you're facing health challenges, spiritual attacks, or simply searching for authentic faith, Benny's testimony reminds us that God's restoration is available—not just in eternity, but in the here and now when we "press in" to Jesus and surrender to His perfect timing and purpose.
For more information contact us at
rtrdestiny@gmail.com
Welcome to Road to Redemption, a show sharing powerful life testimonies, giving hope to those on their own road to redemption.
Speaker 2:Hey, welcome to Road to Redemption. I'm Drew guest hosting today, and with me in the studio is Benny Deshira of the Christian rock band Empowered. Benny, welcome back.
Speaker 3:Thanks, drew, good to see you again, man.
Speaker 2:Good to see you too. We are excited about what God is doing in the music world. Well, just in the world in general, yeah, there's like lots of changes, lots of things happening and you're in the music industry. We had you on the show some years back I think it was 2019 on Road to Redemption. You have an incredible testimony and we recorded that, so anyone wants to hear that story Benny's Road to Redemption. It's archived and you can actually hear it on the 700 Club. They interviewed you, but we've got a Road to Redemption episode at rtrdestinycom. Give us a little recap maybe somebody who's not familiar with your band or familiar with you and then we can talk about what's going on now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thanks, man, so long ago, it seems like, but you blink your eyes and it was a blip. Much like life, right? Yeah, so you go through that and I'm nine years removed from the traumatic brain injury that we talked about. Yet I've done three records since Since then. Since then, since then, no smell still, no taste still. But, thank you, jesus, we're talking today, amen, and you've got to learn how to take the win.
Speaker 3:I think a lot of times, as Christians, we have to learn how to take the win. Oh, but I don't think God's answering my. I don't think he's answering my prayer. What is wrong with you? You got a partial victory. It is a victory in Jesus. Nonetheless, take the win, because God doesn't sometimes listen. If you want a 10-story building, sometimes God doesn't give it to you. He's like, hey, let's do a little foundation work first. Oh, let's do a slab work first. Hmm, hmm, oh, let's do a slab. Okay, wait, I know what we're going to do now. Let's start putting up some beams and everything and start building something. And here's the deal. Whatever building you wind up with is going to be immensely, spiritually gigantic, regardless of the height of it.
Speaker 2:I think about that scripture. You know, unless the Lord builds the house, that's right. Labor in vain.
Speaker 3:That's right, and you know, and I think in today's world, it's what it's 2025, man. So I think that in marketing because I've had an ad agency for years and years in marketing there's a thing called the JND, the just noticeable difference, right? So you buy a bag of potato chips, lays, because you can't just eat one, and you get in and it's a nice bag, and then you get in the truck and you drive in some place and you open that thing up and then, once all that air escapes, you look in the bag and how full is it? Um, it half right, it's half right, and so it. But it's that just noticeable difference about how they prepare that package that deceives you to think there's more in the bag.
Speaker 3:Well, satan is no idiot. He has personally met God. The father personally met him before he decided that he thinks he needed to be the one greater right Of everybody. Who knows the scripture. Satan knows itan tempted jesus in the desert using scripture. Yeah, so for those of us who feel that satan doesn't know what he's doing, he knows everything that he's doing, but there is a name and that name is jesus. Amen, and if something's coming against you, jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus, and they have to flee at the name of Jesus right, and so, in recovery from a traumatic thing, like I did, jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus.
Speaker 2:Again. If you want to hear Benny's road to redemption and the complete story of his traumatic brain injury, you can go to rtrdestinycom. But if you could tell people a little bit about that and how long. And now you've made three records and God's doing something great. God is on the move?
Speaker 3:Yeah, he is definitely on the move, and so 2016,. I'm up late watching political stuff, right? Because I was trying to find out who was the least crazy person to vote for and I vote Jesus people. Just so y'all know, I have an affiliation of a party. I do not always vote that way. If you are in an opposing party and you line up biblically with me, you're in the 90th percentile. I'm voting against my own party, I'm voting for you because you get it. So there's that. So I'm watching all this, right. And I fell asleep on a sofa.
Speaker 3:Woke up the next day, my alarm went off. It was in the bedroom with my wife, Donna, and she comes out of the door. I remember standing up, seeing her extend the phone to me, and I have a 20 minute hole in my memory and I still have a 20 minute. I don't remember a thing. I think it's God's protection of what happened to me. So, basically, when I got to my hardwood floors, my wife went to hand me my phone. I was horizontal. I dropped immediately to the floor. There was no catching or anything. Struck the back of my head onto the hardwood floors. Struck the back of my head onto the hardwood floors. Double fracture at the base of my skull, frontal lobe crush on the left side, internal brain bleed Wow.
Speaker 3:And so we get to the hospital. I'm in there. I see you. They've got me on anti-seizure medicines, this, that everything. I'm in there for like three days. They release me home. They say the brain's going to shut itself down. That's how you're going to heal.
Speaker 3:Month one 20 hours a day sleep Wow. Every three hours Donna would wake me up. She became a full-time nurse and it was like meds and insure because I wasn't eating and a power rate. I lost something like 35 pounds in a month Wow, Not my suggested way to lose weight. And then the second month I started coming out of it. Third month, I really started coming out of it. Toward the end of the second month, god audibly spoke in my living room and said basically it's a long story. I might cut it short Basically, audibly, benny, I have huge and great plans for you coming out of this thing. So on our record, three Days, jeremiah 29, 11 is a song on there. It's my favorite Bible promise and he audibly gave me the lyrics for that song. So in the beginning of that song we're kind of singing to you, telling you, and then somewhere around verse two it flips and he's speaking directly. It's incredible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, amazing, yeah, um, and we love your music. If you just tuned in, we're visiting with Benny Deshira of the band Empowered, so tell us about what's happening now. What's going on now?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so. So so God is doing a thing. I don't enjoy the fact that people who are in any type of position of being known and believe me, I'm not worldwide known.
Speaker 1:You might be.
Speaker 3:We've got some traction going right now, and there's this thing about being an open book. Right, the Bible is a book, but if it stays shut, you ain't gonna learn anything. So my open book moment is over the past several months, my family has been under demonic attack. Not evil attack, demonic attack. There are things going on within my family that oh, yeah, right, and I want to go bc life sicilian and go take care of business, right? No, that's not the way. It is not the way. And God, you know, as I'm thinking about it and I'm praying, you know, and I'm pressed into God and I'm like what is this thing? And this is as we're preparing to do, this new record, yeah, and God says vengeance is mine. I've got that. You need to reflect me in every way that you respond to that, lest your testimony be diminished. Drew, what a heavy I'm sitting there. I'm in awe at what.
Speaker 2:I'm hearing there's attacks coming to your family because you're doing good things. Well, that's why there are great things happening and the Lord is moving.
Speaker 3:That's why Satan does not want to see. So here's the thing, and this is where I'm living right now. I told my wife recently I was like emotionally and physically I'm exhausted, I'm worn because of all these things. Spiritually, I am on fire, and do not contest me. Spiritually I'm in the word. I'm surrounded by people who are in the word. I'm like one of the last two prophets in Revelation. I will vomit fire on you right now if you come at me with some anti-biblical stuff and right now, that just noticeable difference we talked about with the chips.
Speaker 3:Satan's using that right now, even within the modern day church, and with all that like guess what. It's not really like that. It's okay if you do this, but not all the way into that, for example, right, and so it's a slippery slope. It's like it's a slow fade into what's going on with people, with their life in general, right, and right now Satan has done a fantastic job of even having the modern day church. I think wimpified is a good answer or whatever. It just is sort of like, well, it's okay.
Speaker 3:You know, I went to church Sunday. Well, guess what? Folks Church on Sunday, isn't it Church Sunday, through Sunday, is it? Well, how do you have church Sunday through Sunday? Well, if you're not speaking to God directly the hotline going to Jesus on a daily basis you're going to fall, you're going to stumble, and so for me, he daily basis. You're going to fall, you're going to stumble, and so for me, he is just tuned to with this new record. It's called Salt that's the name of the new record that's coming out and I think we're going to release it mid-June. So Salt and I had a pastor in Kentucky prophesy over us. This is where the name of the record came from. So the S is for safety. Jesus knows what you're doing when you're doing it for him. You therefore are under the safety and protection of Jesus Christ. How many times, as a Christian, do we forget?
Speaker 2:that I love Psalm 91. Yeah, how many times he who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. That's it, and we are covered under that.
Speaker 3:The A was anointed right and he said the pastor's like you're anointed man and just you're, either you can. Here's the thing as a Christian, you can tell fake anointment from genuine anointing. Notice what I said different Anointment anointing God gives you an anointing God, gives you an anointing man, gives you anointment right. And so there's that. Then the L was legit and he's like legitimate. You do not remove his name from your lyrics.
Speaker 3:Everybody who listens to your music knows what it is you're singing about. We are not trying to be the next Christian rock band that can go take over the secular music world, but we are trying to be the Christian rock band that, if someone who listens to secular music hears what we're singing about because it's God given that their life gets changed Be legitimate in what you're doing. And the T is timing. And this prophecy that came to us through this pastor was like you've been operating under God's timing. He wants you to know that your time is coming due, so be prepared for opportunities that he puts in front of you as Christians and you don't have to be an artist, but as Christians he's going to put opportunity in front of you.
Speaker 2:That's something I pray. I'm like God. Let your perfect will be done today and in your perfect timing. Let me remain under that shelter and lead and guide my steps. So that's right.
Speaker 3:And so here's the thing If he shows you something, he says I'd like you to move on this, then do four things M-O-V-E and move, because if you take that, what you know God gave you in your spirit not in your mind the devil's got control of that. Get out of your head and into your heart.
Speaker 2:You were saying the devil's got control of that. I don't believe he. We take captive every thought we can, we can, but the you know we can.
Speaker 3:But the devil will use your mind to, so that's what you meant by. He's got the devil will use your mind to make you justify a thing Like maybe God's not saying that to me? Well, guess what You've just replaced yourself?
Speaker 2:I don't believe he has control of that. No, no, no, no. But he definitely can influence, but you?
Speaker 3:influence your thoughts, control of your thoughts right.
Speaker 2:It's up to us to take captive.
Speaker 3:Mentally in your mind is worldly In your heart, is eternal. God speaks to the heart right, and that's what I mean to clarify that so there's that. So as long as we're following that spiritual, eternal burning of a message that the Holy Spirit gives us in our heart, in our spirit, not our head, gotcha we will not step into and go. Well, drew, guess what? I don't think really this is what God meant, because now we've replaced him with ourself.
Speaker 3:In other words, I know better than what God's telling me to do, Instead of just moving on what he told you to do.
Speaker 2:Right, mom always used to say lean not unto your own understanding. That's where that verse comes from.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's where that verse comes from. So what is that verse saying? Get out of your head.
Speaker 2:Yeah, get into your heart. Amen In your heart, my brother taught me that too In your heart and your spirit, spirit, amen. It's not. It's not hard, and you know, trying to do it on our own and muster up the strength that Jesus said he would. He has to go away, but he's going to send a helper, and the helper is the Holy spirit, the power to be a witness.
Speaker 3:That's right, and you're trying to do it on your own. You struggle with it, you get frustrated with it, and why is that? It's because you are moving out of his purpose and not in it. Yeah, and not in, and it doesn't get that. So, so when we're on stage, you know, when we're on stage, we just we did a Christmas show. It was awesome, big audience participation, it was awesome. So at the end of the show and I say this mostly at the end of all of our shows I'm like hey, thank you for allowing us to be on the stage here for you, whatever, but our final come to our bigger stage. Our bigger stage is over here at our merch table. You don't have to buy a thing from us, but if you have a prayer, if there's something you need to unload.
Speaker 3:If there's something you need to talk about, we want to be here for you for that, because it's going to be scriptural and it's going to be biblical and it's not going to be about being this big, famous thing. It's not that we're trying to point people to Jesus so they have an opportunity for eternal life. Yeah, lest they miss it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know somebody who. Oh well, that music's kind of hard. It's not the music I listen to. To each his own, it's a preference thing, but I love your music. I love seeing where God started, you guys, and now where God is taking you. You're a producer, mikey Howard. Yeah, with the band Seventh Time Down. Seventh Time Down Love.
Speaker 3:Journey Music is his production.
Speaker 2:Great job, he's listening.
Speaker 3:God's got him wired and that's the big thing too. I mean, we're not heavy metal at all yeah, we're not that. But there's influences from all sorts of experiences and bands we've listened to in the past or whatever. Yeah, that kind of is ear candy for people.
Speaker 2:And you're talking about promoting Jesus and directing people to Jesus like that. Oh, I want to listen to more of that. And then you listen to your lyrics and people find out about Jesus and have a good time while they're doing like enjoying themselves. There's nothing wrong and I just pray a special blessing and anointing on Empowered and that God would continue to put a new song in your heart. If there's anything else you want to say or there's somebody listening who maybe feels like I don't know. I see all these so many musicians and everybody has their own guitar in front of a camera and there's 1 million video posts and please watch mine. In a world of look at me, look at me. What do you have to say to an artist or just anybody who feels like they have some songs they want to write and they see what empowered and what you've gone through? God's done a miracle in your life and I know he can do that for somebody else.
Speaker 3:Especially for an artist. If you're a Christian artist, this is not me, this is the Holy Spirit speaking through me. God, just put this on my heart If you are a Christian artist, be that. Don't just be that. Be all of that, or we could just be a wedding band and go make money on a weekend. You cannot serve two masters. You're either all in or you're all.
Speaker 3:When we get to heaven, there's this thing called the judgment throne. We're either going to be all in or we're going to be out. My prayer is that anybody who hears this Drew, is not out. Our whole purpose is to point people to the John 14, 6 folks In red. I'm the way, the truth and the life. No one enters into the kingdom of God but through me. If this was a Willy Wonka movie, that's the golden ticket. It's Jesus. It's the death we just got out of Easter. It's the death and resurrection of Jesus that gets us into heaven. If we believe on that, that's where we're going, and my prayer for everybody is that you get that verse rooted so deeply in your soul that you cannot. Even the rocks will cry out. Even the rocks will cry out.
Speaker 2:Benny, there may be somebody out there saying I don't know how to pray, that I want to come to know Jesus. I love to ask Jesus into my heart. Yeah, would you pray with?
Speaker 3:us? Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 2:We're coming to the end of the show and if you just tuned in, it's Benny Deshira with Empowered the band he's got a miracle story. Check out his story on rtrdestinycom. We interviewed him back in 2019. But yeah, would you just? Would you pray? I?
Speaker 3:would, I would. But, yeah, would you just? Would you pray? I would, I would. Father God, we come to you today. I thank you for this time with Drew and the station and our discussion, father, that just points people to you.
Speaker 3:Lord God, if you're struggling, father, for anybody out there who is struggling on how to come to you, all they have to do is ask Just find a quiet place If you're driving that's my favorite prayer closet and just ask him into your heart. Just, jesus, I believe, per the scriptures, that you died and gave up your life for me. Father, you went to hell to defeat hell for us, rose again three days later and ascended into heaven. And we believe on that, lord God. And whatever is going on in our life, father, because we believe that we have an availability to you and through you into the kingdom of heaven, eternal life is going to be so huge as compared to what we're going through here, father, but we're here on this earth right now and we press into you, Lord God, no matter what our circumstances are.
Speaker 3:You could be going through divorce, people are going through divorce, addictions of any kind, struggles, pain, medical issues, sorrow. Father God, your name is greater than all those things. You are the great physician, father God. We just pray, lord, that your hand, your healing hand, reaches out and touches every single person listening to this. Thank you, jesus. That whatever they're going through, father God, you have got it covered, lord God. And in response they say amen and thank you Lord, and they follow you and they press into you, father, and our prayer is that people press into you so that they gain this kingdom glimpse prior to even being in the kingdom, so that they're prepared to meet you on that glorious day when you ask us into your kingdom, to the great banquet, that it is Thank you, jesus, as the bride of Christ, lord God, and we just thank you for that, in Jesus' name.
Speaker 2:In Jesus' name, Amen, Benny. Thank you for talking brother. Thank you for that, In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name, Amen Benny. Thank you for talking brother. Thank you for praying Excited about what God has in store for Empowered, your new record coming out and it's called Salt Salt and that's coming out pretty soon, or well, June.
Speaker 3:In.
Speaker 2:June, so we're quick to it, man. I like the sneak peek that you let us hear. If somebody wants to find out more about Empowered, where do they go?
Speaker 3:Thanks for that. The website for us is rockin R-O-C-K-I-N, the number four jesuscom rockinforjesuscom. I've led a men's Bible study actually for many years too, and I've got a blog page on there and some of the studies I've done and they're short quickies, but there's a blog tab on there too. So if you want to get a little bit more insight as to what God's dialing down, that's what that is. But then all of our upcoming show dates and everything are on there and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:Alright. Well, if you ever need a bass player, you know. Yeah, I'm saying I got some of my basses left. It would be awesome. I appreciate you, benny.
Speaker 3:Same here, you are a blessing and I know that god's much love for you, what god's put us together and be able to talk and visit with this and and it's it's way deeper than just the discussion over a couple of microphones and that's right, and we go way back.
Speaker 2:Benny was friends with 91.1, the radio station. Even back, way back, was 2019 around there.
Speaker 3:That was our first record 2019.
Speaker 2:That's right, that's what I was going to say. We were the first to play your song on the radio, didn't that?
Speaker 3:cool. Yeah, listen to the children. That was the first radio cut, so it all started here. Folks, it must have been a destiny.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 3:You like what I did. You want a destiny Tie that in I like that.
Speaker 2:Well, you're listening to Destiny Radio and this is Road to Redemption. We took a quick pit stop. It's the artist interview series. You know we always say on Road to Redemption find a Christ-centered church, get into the church and get into the Word. A Bible app, the paper's right here in front of us. Read the Word every day and ask the Holy Spirit what scriptures to turn to. You'll be amazed. It's amazing. And then, thirdly, a small group to do life with others. Don't do life alone, don't isolate yourself, and I speak from experience. It hasn't been a good time when I've tried to isolate myself, but when I reach out to family, the body of Christ and friends, that that's the way to do it life together and not alone.
Speaker 2:And we appreciate you listening to Road to Redemption and we have a whole archive of interviews and God's goodness, god's amazing miracle power. If he did this for Benny, he can do it for you. Amen, he can do it for me. He can resolve situations. There's restoration, there's healing. If your heart is broken, he can mend your heart. So don't give up. Don't give up. It's not over. Let's keep going. And that fire that God put in you, ask God to help you know what that is and cultivate it, and then let's just man our post, like Steve always says. You know, let's just remain faithful in what God has given us to do. Press in, yeah Right.
Speaker 3:Press in.
Speaker 2:I appreciate you, benny, I love you, brother.
Speaker 3:Same here man.
Speaker 2:Love you too.
Speaker 3:Been a good time yeah, we do.
Speaker 1:You've been listening to Road to Redemption, sharing powerful life testimonies, giving hope to those on their own road to redemption. If you have any comments or questions, we would love to connect with you. You can reach out to us at destinyradiolive. Thank you for listening and we'll see you next week on Road to Redemption.