Before millions knew Jonathan Roumie as the actor portraying Jesus in The Chosen, he says he reached a point where he had almost nothing left.
In May 2018, Roumie was struggling financially in Los Angeles. He has recalled being $100 overdrawn, having just $20 in his pocket, little food remaining and no work in sight.
That day, he got on his knees and surrendered his career, finances and future to God.
“I surrender. I surrender,” he recalled praying.
Hours later, Roumie says he returned home and discovered four unexpected checks in his mailbox from previous work, giving him the financial relief he desperately needed.
Then, about three months later, filmmaker Dallas Jenkins called him about a new project centred on the life of Jesus.
That project became The Chosen.
“I was broke, I was out of food, I was desperate and I had no options. All I could do was surrender my circumstances, my career, my life, my finances, everything over to God,” Roumie later said.
For Roumie, the testimony is not simply about becoming successful. He says the turning point was learning to release his desire to control his future and trust God with it.
He had only $20 left.
But according to his testimony, surrender became the beginning of a completely different chapter.
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5