Are you willing to surrender your whole life to God? If you answer yes to this question, I want you to prove it.

When you are convicted of your sins, and you asked the Lord to forgive you, He will. If the Lord has called you into full-time service to Him and you answer willingly, He will bless you.

Remember the Lord knows the truth in your heart irrespective of what your lips are saying. To show the sincerity of your heart, you need to prove your words.

Elijah was a mighty prophet of God, and the Lord told him to anoint Elisha as a prophet in his place. (1 Kings 19:11-21)

Elijah went to look for Elisha and found him plowing in the fields with twelve yolks of oxen before him. Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle over his shoulder and walked away.

Farming was, therefore, Elisha’s secular job which he was busy doing when the Lord called him into full-time ministry. He knew the significance of Elijah’s gesture. He would have to give up everything even leaving his mother and father to follow God.

Indeed, when Christ told his disciples to follow Him, they immediately left their jobs and followed after Him. There were a few who protested. One person wanted to return home to bury his dead and the Lord replied, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:60)

Another said that he wanted to bid farewell to his parents and relatives, and the Lord said to him,

“No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:59-62)

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 10:37-39)

When you decide to follow Christ, it will cost you your secular life. He told the rich young ruler who desired to have eternal life to sell all that he has and give to the poor.

Hence, you need to prove to God that you are committed to Him.

Initially, Elisha hesitated when he received the call from God because he said to Elijah that he wanted to return home to say goodbye to his family. Elijah told him to do as he pleased and left him.

Elisha knew that it was necessary to prove his commitment to God. So he slaughtered all his oxen and boiled them using the oxen’s equipment as fuel and gave the food to his people and they ate. Elisha burnt his secular job and followed Elijah and became his servants.

How many ministers whom God has called to full-time service are willing to give up, burn, sell all their secular jobs and business to follow Christ.

In 2011, the Lord called me into full-time service to Him. He told me to give up all my secular goals and desires and follow Him. My goals and desires were the things that I valued most in my life and the Lord knew this.

He also told me to prove my commitment by withdrawing from a deal that I had on a piece of land. The land was part of my dream. I obeyed, and the Lord honored me.

What about my secular job? I have given up a full-time position with benefits in obedience to God. I can tell you that the sacrifice is painful, but I believe that the Lord will fulfill His promises in my life.

Related: Benefits of Following Christ