Jonathan Roumie Reminds Fans to ‘Surrender to God’ This Advent Season
By Movieguide® Contributor
THE CHOSEN star Jonathan Roumie reflected on what God has been teaching him this Advent season.
In a phone interview with Fox News Digital, the actor discussed his prayer life and quiet time with God.
Most recently, Roumie “has paired up with Hallow, the No. 1 prayer app in the world, for a special Advent prayer challenge for this holy season of preparation for Christmas. The 25-day prayer challenge began Monday — and as part of the effort, both he and actor Liam Neeson guide people through a variety of prayers, meditations, Bible readings and more.”
The challenge, based on various C.S. Lewis works including “The Four Loves,” “The Great Divorce” and “Mere Christianity,” focuses “on the three comings of Christ: personally into each of our hearts, His Second Coming at the end of time, and as an infant in Bethlehem.”
Roumie explained that, through the app, users can “disconnect from the chaos of the real world, the divisiveness, the anxiety” they endure to discover “peace and a deeper relationship with Christ, and I think that’s really the goal of the prayer challenge.”
“We know Christmas isn’t about something you buy at a store,” he said on Instagram. “It’s about something so much greater. It is the day we celebrate the incredible truth that God so loved the world that he gave his only son. It’s not about presents. It’s about Jesus.”
For Roumie, when it comes to his faith, he encourages people to completely surrender to God.
“I think it all comes down to the simple act of surrender to God in a person’s life. And I went through this in a very visceral, substantial and transformative way in my life five years ago,” Roumie said. “I literally was on my knees, and I said, ‘Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything.’ And He did. And then three months later, I got called to do THE CHOSEN. It was a point that I think my life was building to when that happened — and I realized that trying to micromanage God was not something that was working in my favor.”
“And once I let him take the wheel, everything changed. The decisive moment was that simple prayer of surrender,” he added. “And I think that’s really difficult for people, especially when we feel so out of control. When we turn on the news and see what’s going on today, it feels like we have no control in our own lives.”
“But God hasn’t forsaken us. He’s not abandoned us. He’s faithful to us to the very end. And it’s a matter of tapping into that faith and allowing Him to be more involved in our lives — and surrendering is the first step to getting there,” he concluded.
Movieguide® recently reported on Roumie:
While at a recent conference, THE CHOSEN actor Jonathan Roumie discussed how he approaches playing the role of Jesus, and the power that TV and movies have to connect viewers to God.
Given the divine mystery that Jesus was both fully God and fully human, Roumie explained how he approaches this aspect of the character when he is portraying Jesus.
“Grace is the first word that comes to mind,” he said. “Before approaching the role, before approaching each season, there’s always a substantial amount of prayer that goes into trying to take on, as best as I can in my own sort of feeble humanity, the mind or personage of God; which is impossible. So all I can do is bring the fullness of my humanity… to the role and then ask God to utilize me sort of like a mirror to reflect his grace, his mercy, his love, his compassion, in all of the scenes.”
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