Leaving to Become: Daring to Give Up Everything to Walk With Christ

Leaving to Become: Daring to Give Up Everything to Walk With Christ

This article is drawn from the "Matin'elles" broadcast on the 5th day of the Women's Camp 2026 on ICC TV Montreal. Around the table: Laurine (host), Sonia and Yari (guests), and shepherd Ren Toyoto.

Introduction

There are words that stay with you long after they have been spoken. "Leaving to become" is one of them. Three words, an invisible comma, and an entire life trajectory. Because becoming is never given to you without something else being let go.

In New Testament Greek, "to leave" is kataleipo: to abandon, to release, to leave behind. And "to become" is ginomai: a process, a transformation that takes time. These two verbs do not work without each other. You cannot become the woman or the man God has prepared if you hold on with both hands to everything you used to be.

Sonia left France, her habits, a life centered on partying. Yari left Islam and her family's approval. Shepherd Ren, five years ago, left Paris, a new home she had only just come to love. Three stories, one same calling: let go of what you know to receive what God has prepared.

Outline of the Article

1. Leaving Means Dying a Little to Yourself

Leaving is not just changing your address. It is moving, letting go, giving up, abandoning, dying. Shepherd Ren put it in an image worth more than a long speech: "left without a GPS." You move forward without a clear plan, without knowing where you will place your foot next, because the only landmark left to you is the voice of God.

The Greek word kataleipo carries this idea: you loosen your grip. You stop clinging. You let the thing go, or you leave yourself. Jesus uses the image of the seed: "unless it dies, it remains alone." To avoid remaining alone, it must die. And the shepherd extends the image with the snake, which must shed its skin regularly, or it dies suffocated inside its old covering. Your transformation requires a real letting go.

2. Becoming Is a Process, Not an Event

Sonia says it with great humility: "I am not perfect yet, but I am becoming, at my own pace, and it is going really well." Ginomai, in Greek, is exactly that: a becoming, a transformation that unfolds over time.

You do not leave your old life on Monday morning to be a new person by Tuesday evening. You start with one step of faith, then another. You change your playlist. You change who you spend time with. You change how you see God, yourself, others. The Bible speaks of moving "from glory to glory" (2 Corinthians 3:18): each step brings you a little closer to the person God already sees in you.

3. Three Ways to Leave (and to Become)

Sonia's testimony, leaving a country and a former life. Sonia took 19 years to respond to the call. Her sister had been telling her about Christ for a long time, even looking up churches near her in France. Sonia politely refused: "What you're living for yourself is good." Then she left France for Canada, and her sister pointed her to ICC Quebec. She came reluctantly. She met the shepherd, her husband, sisters who would not let go of her, with a genuine, unconditional love. In December 2024, she was baptized along with her two children. Today she serves at welcome, in cleaning, and cherishes her impact family.

Yari's testimony, leaving a religion. Yari was born and raised in Islam. She was even baptized within that religion. A cousin who came to Quebec told her about the Gospel. The process was long, because it meant giving up the approval of her family, an approval she had fed on. She had to, as Paul says, "renew her mind" (Romans 12:2). The loneliness was real. So was the rejection. But the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, strengthened her. At ICC Quebec she found shepherds after God's own heart and sisters to walk alongside her.

Shepherd Ren's testimony, leaving comfort. Five years ago, shepherd Ren left Paris for the mission field. Newly married, she had just bought a house she deeply loved, with a daycare right next door and a place to walk. "My soul loved that house," she says. Then God told her: "The same way Abraham left, you must also leave." She resisted a little. She thought about renting the house out, but her husband was clear: we sell it. She left. She paid the price. And today she is on this set, carrying the Word to other women.

4. Why You Resist Leaving

You resist because you are afraid. Afraid of the emptiness. Afraid of the unknown. Afraid of being rejected by your family, your friends, your circle. Afraid of losing your material comfort. The shepherd expresses it with an image drawn from the book of Numbers: the Hebrews in the wilderness longed for the cucumbers and onions of Egypt. "Do not sit there thinking about the cucumbers and onions. Hold onions in your hand long enough, and eventually they will bring tears to your eyes."

Your Egypt might be a relationship dragging you down. A way of thinking inherited from your family. A city where you have settled out of comfort but not out of calling. A religion. An addiction. A social role. A job that is suffocating you. As long as you keep looking back, you cannot enter your destiny. Lot's wife is the example: God tells her to move forward, she looks back, she stays frozen (Genesis 19:26).

5. Leaving Is an Act of Faith

Abraham is the ultimate biblical figure of leaving. God tells him: "Leave your country, your people, and your father's household" (Genesis 12:1). There was no GPS. He had no child, even though he was promised he would be the father of a multitude. But he left. "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

Ruth also left Moab, her land, her gods, to follow Naomi and the God of Israel. In return she received a new husband, a new life, and a place in the Messiah's genealogy. Christ himself left heaven, gave up everything to come looking for you. Your leaving is never a cost without a return. Mark 10:29-30 promises it: no one leaves father, mother, sister, or fields for the sake of Christ without receiving a hundredfold, along with persecution, and eternal life.

Key Takeaways

• Leaving and becoming are inseparable. You cannot receive a new identity in Christ without letting go of the old one.
• Becoming takes time. It is a process "from glory to glory," not an instant shift. Be patient with yourself.
• You do not have to leave alone. Sonia, Yari, and the shepherd all insist on the same thing: "iron sharpens iron." A local church, an impact family, sisters who pray with you, all of it is essential.
• The cost is real, and so is the promise. Persecution, loneliness, family rejection: all of this can happen. But God has "plans for peace and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11).
• Your obedience frees other people. If Sonia had not left, her children would not have been baptized with her. If Apostle Yvan Castanou had not left his comfort, ICC would not exist. Your leaving gives birth to destinies.

Personal Application

Take a moment of silence, your Bible open, and ask yourself these questions honestly:

1. What is your Egypt today? Name it clearly. A relationship, a way of thinking, a place, a habit, an addiction, a religion, a role. Write it down.
2. What is holding you back from leaving? Fear of others' opinions? Fear of loneliness? Fear of losing material comfort? Possible rejection from your family? Put a word to your fear.
3. What image of you does God already see, that you do not see yet? Ask him to show it to you. "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand" (Ephesians 2:10).
4. Who is walking with you through this leaving? Do you have a local church, an impact family, a sister or brother praying for you? If not, that might be your first concrete step: seeking out that spiritual family.
5. What is the next small step of obedience? Not the whole mountain. Just the next step. Abraham put one foot in front of the other. Do the same.

Verses Cited

• Genesis 12:1, "Go from your country, your people, and your father's household."
• Genesis 19:26, Lot's wife looked back.
• Joshua 24:15, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
• Psalm 23:1, "The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing."
• Jeremiah 29:11, Plans for peace and not for disaster.
• Mark 10:29-30, No one leaves for the sake of Christ without receiving a hundredfold.
• John 8:32, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
• Romans 12:2, "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind."
• 2 Corinthians 5:17, "The old has passed away; behold, all things have become new."
• Ephesians 2:10, Created in Christ Jesus for good works.
• Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
• Hebrews 11:1, Faith, the assurance of things hoped for.
• Revelation 12:11, Overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.

FAQ

How do I know if it is God asking me to leave, or just my own desire for change?

Three simple indicators. First, what God asks always aligns with his written Word. Open the Bible. Second, the voice of the Holy Spirit is confirmed by spiritually mature people around you: your pastor, your shepherd, an impact family. Third, a true call from God comes with an inner peace, even when the step costs you something. It is not the excitement of novelty, it is a quiet conviction that lasts.

I am afraid of rejection from my family if I leave my religion, my habits, or my circle. What should I do?

Rejection is a real risk, as Yari's testimony shows. But you are not alone. The Holy Spirit is called the Comforter for a reason. Quickly find a spiritual family to walk alongside you. Keep praying for your biological family, as Yari does: God does not come to separate people permanently, his goal remains that everyone would be won over to Christ. Rejection is often temporary, even though it hurts in the moment.

I have known for a long time that I need to leave something, but I cannot manage to do it. What should I do?

Remember Sonia: she took 19 years to respond. God is patient. But every year spent in your Egypt is a year without the hundredfold that Mark 10 promises. Take one small concrete step this week: a conversation with your shepherd, a reading of Genesis 12, a written prayer where you name your Egypt before God. The first step often unlocks everything else. And remember Philippians 4:13: it is not your own strength that counts, it is Christ's strength in you.

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Main speaker: Ren Toyoto (shepherd, ICC Quebec)
Host: Laurine
Testimonies: Sonia and Yari
Context: Matin'elles, Women's Camp 2026, ICC TV Montreal