The Umbrella Moment
Benjamin William Hastings
Finding yourself in the rain
When most people imagine Bible college, they picture a place where faith grows stronger—where theology deepens, and calling becomes clear. For Benjamin William Hastings, it was the opposite.
“Ironically, about halfway through that year, I had a real existential crisis,” Ben recalled. “I started questioning everything—my faith, the existence of God, and even why I had come to Bible college in the first place.”
At just 19 years old, Ben found himself in what should have been the most faith-saturated environment of his life. But instead of spiritual clarity, he was confronted by overwhelming doubt.
“It’s such a strange feeling, trying to find God when you’re surrounded by Him,” he said. “All the classes were about God, all the conversations centered around Him, but I thought, I don’t know if I see God in any of this.”
Despite the setting, or perhaps because of it, Ben felt deeply isolated. Everyone around him seemed so sure of what they believed. Meanwhile, he was quietly unraveling.
The Question that Changed Everything
The turning point came unexpectedly—not in a sermon or a classroom, but outside, in the rain, holding an umbrella. Ben had volunteered at a women’s conference.
“I was walking this woman back to her car, holding the umbrella over her head, when she stopped,” he rshard. “Out of nowhere, she turned to me and asked, ‘Are you a writer?’”
They hadn’t been talking about writing. They hadn’t been talking much at all. Stunned, he answered, “Yeah, I guess I am.”
Then the woman said the words that shifted the course of his life: “You have the ability to express deep truth. That’s what God wants you to do with your life.”
“For the first time in months, I felt alive in my faith again.”
She didn’t elaborate or wait for a response. She just walked off, leaving Ben standing in the rain—speechless, umbrella in hand, forever changed.
“It was one of those rare moments in life when you feel like God has spoken directly to you,” he said. “It hit me like a ton of bricks.”
The Song That Sparked a New Purpose
That encounter sparked something. The next day, Ben wrote a song called Victory. Though not officially released, the song became an anthem at his church.
“We played it at every service—probably five times a Sunday,” he said with a laugh. “I went from being the guy sitting in the back of the class, never turning in work, to writing songs everyone was singing.”
That sense of purpose reignited his faith. In the months that followed, he wrote more songs—including Captain, which would later appear on a Hillsong United record. He met Joel Houston. He met his wife and decided to stay in Australia.
“Before that, I’d been planning to move to Bali, learn to deejay, and live a chill life on the beach,” Ben shared. “But that moment with the woman—it re-centered everything. It reminded me that maybe, just maybe, God had a plan.”
Sometimes, the moments that change everything are the ones you don’t see coming.
The Long Arc of Faith
For Ben, faith didn’t return all at once. But something essential shifted that day: a spark of hope, a nudge back toward belief, a reminder that God could still speak, even in the middle of a storm.
“Sometimes, all it takes is a few words from someone you didn’t expect to remind you that He’s still there, and He’s still writing your story.”
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