Redefine Success: Embrace the Process
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ”
If you’ve watched The Chosen, you know Jonathan Roumie as the gifted actor who portrays Jesus. What you may not know is how close he was to giving up before landing the role that would change his life.
Before The Chosen, Roumie struggled to find consistent work. He was down to his last dollar, wondering if he had reached the end of his journey as an actor. But what seemed like a series of small, unrelated opportunities turned out to be preparation for something far greater than he could have imagined.
It started in 2014 when a friend and colleague, Dallas Jenkins, asked Roumie to portray Jesus for a Good Friday service at his church. Jenkins was directing a short film and, within seconds of Roumie’s audition, he knew: That’s Jesus. That’s my Jesus for this show. The film was played across seven church services, reaching over 15,000 people in one weekend.
Roumie reprised the role in two more church productions. Later, he auditioned for The Two Thieves, a short film about the men crucified alongside Jesus. He read for the penitent thief and felt confident in his performance. However, when he got a callback, it wasn’t for the lead role of the thief—it was for Jesus. He was disappointed because the role had only five lines. Needing the work, he accepted the role.
By 2016, another director friend invited him to perform in Passion plays. Roumie acknowledged he was consistently asked to play the same role.
"For whatever reason, God kept placing me in these stories about Jesus—over and over again. Within a few years, I had played Him five, six, seven times. I started to wonder if there was something more to it."
Then came The Chosen.
In the summer of 2018, Jenkins called Roumie and asked, "Want to put the sandals back on?" He explained that he was launching a crowd-funded series—one that probably wouldn’t go anywhere. It wasn’t a glamorous opportunity, but it was steady work, and Roumie took the offer.
There was no competition, no audition - the role was his.
What started as four episodes turned into eight, completing the first season in 2019. Then the pandemic hit, and the team decided to make the show free to viewers.
"And it exploded," Roumie said.
The project that probably wouldn’t go anywhere has now become five seasons, translated into 50 languages, and viewed by over 280 million people. For context, there are 340 million people in the United States.
The purpose of sharing Jonathan Roumie’s story is to show how God often calls us to take what seem like small, insignificant steps in our journey. We tend to fixate on the destination, discounting the daily acts of obedience along the way.
I’ve never been fond of the phrase, “It’s all part of the process” but the truth is, life is a refining process. Growth happens in the waiting, in the struggle, in the seemingly insignificant moments.
What process is God leading you through right now? Are you faithful? Does what you’re doing now feel meaningless in comparison to where you aspire to be?
Everyone’s journey looks different, but perhaps one of these resonates with you:
You long to be married, but the right person hasn’t come along, or the timing has been wrong. Will you trust God’s timing? Will you keep becoming the person someone would want to marry? Do not lower your standards.
You desire to grow your family, but it’s not happening. You’ve been trying, praying, waiting. Will you stay committed? Will you continue taking care of yourself, even when that prenatal vitamin feels like a daily reminder of what hasn’t come? Stay faithful. God’s timing is perfect, and your child will enter the world for such a time as this.
You feel stuck in your work. What once fulfilled you now leaves you restless, yet walking away isn’t an option. You need stability, you have responsibilities, and you feel trapped. Trust that God will make it clear when it’s time to move. In the meantime, what is He teaching you? Who can you serve better? Shift your focus from your frustration to your purpose.
You or your loved one is in a battle for their health. It seems like one step forward and two steps back, and when you think you’ve turned a corner, a new setback presents itself. The future feels uncertain or even scary. Take heart and remember God does not give the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, love, and sound mind.
Your business isn’t thriving the way you hoped. You took risks, stepped out in faith, and now you’re questioning if you misheard God—or if you failed completely (I’ve been there). Failure is never wasted in an entrepreneurial journey. Keep showing up. God is faithful.
You are in the trenches of raising a family, and it’s much harder than you ever imagined. If keeping everyone alive wasn’t enough, trying to direct young souls in the way they should go is a battle you fight every. single. day. Don’t lose heart—what feels like an uphill battle is actually the planting of seeds that will grow in ways you can’t yet see. You are doing more good than you know.
Perhaps the hardest process to endure in life is the loss of a loved one. Grief is a depth of pain unlike any other, yet it forges strength that nothing else can. If this is the season you’re walking through, hold onto this truth: God is near to the brokenhearted. My prayer is that you feel His presence more now than ever.
In 2014, Jonathan Roumie had no idea that saying yes to a small church production for a friend would prepare him for the most important role of his life. He didn’t know that when he was passed over for the lead role in The Two Thieves, what seemed like a setback was actually divine preparation.
If you feel discouraged because your destination seems out of reach, take heart. You are exactly where you are supposed to be. God is working in ways you cannot yet see, and He is preparing you for something greater than you can imagine. Remember success is not always found in the destination, goal, or vision. Success is becoming the person God made you to be. Though the process is not easy, allowing Him to use you as a vessel is an act of obedience and love. Do not discount your struggle—God knows what He is doing.
Don’t lose hope. Stay faithful. Keep showing up.
Embrace the process.
Godspeed, my friend.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
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Sources: Roumie, Jonathan. 2024. “Jonathan Roumie: The Weight of Playing Jesus in The Chosen, & How to Raise Your Spiritual Awareness.” Interview by Tucker Carlson. The Tucker Carlson Show. Podcast, March 5, 2024. https://tuckercarlson.com/tucker-show-jonathan-roumie.
Verses:
Esther 4:14 – “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
2 Timothy 1:7 – “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Proverbs 22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Psalm 34:18 – “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Jeremiah 18:4 - “But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.”
