When Next Is Now Sample

Day 3: Burning Plows

“You’ll give up a lot to pursue God’s calling on your life. You’ll miss out on even more if you stay in the field.” — Pastor Steven Furtick

At the age of 16, Pastor Steven Furtick felt called to physically burn his CDs (think of them like smaller, shinier vinyls). This decision to light his music collection on fire was to show he was giving up his dream to be a rockstar and become the preacher God was calling him to be. Seems kind of dramatic, but we see Elisha doing something similar in 1 Kings 19. After he was called, what followed was the ultimate bonfire. He took the plow Elijah found him with and burned it… and then he killed all the oxen.

Elisha’s actions are significant for a few reasons. To have oxen and plows back in that day represented a level of wealth. If following Elijah didn’t work out, Elisha had a really good backup plan to fall on (or at least a savings account to pull from). The fact that he burned it all shows Elisha was willing to give up his backup plan and all connections to his former life. No matter what happened, he was all in.

There wasn’t anything evil or bad about Elisha’s plows or Pastor Furtick’s music collection. And this is not to say God would not have still used both these men if they kept their things. But it makes you wonder what they might have missed out on moving forward if they still had something holding them back.

No one can promise the decision to follow God fully won’t sting or temporarily break your heart. God might not be asking you to set things on fire, but “burning plows” might look like deleting someone’s number, removing certain apps from your phone, or even getting real with a trusted adult so you can start receiving help. It probably wasn’t easy for Elisha to cut all ties with the life he had known, but he did it because he didn’t want anything holding him back from what God had for him up ahead.

God has something more for you. When the disciples left their boats, they couldn’t have imagined all the miracles they would witness. When Elisha burned his plows, he didn’t know he would be blessed with one of the greatest ministries listed in the Bible. When Pastor Steven Furtick burned those CDs, he didn’t know he would eventually win a Grammy award with his worship team. What these people considered big dreams were nothing compared to God’s reality for their lives. And the same goes for YOU.

What might God be calling you to “burn” in this season? What’s holding you back now from what God wants to do next?