Learning to Follow Jesus

Are we truly following Jesus—or just inviting Him to follow our plans?

In this deeply reflective episode, we confront the uncomfortable but necessary question: What does it actually mean to follow Jesus? Beyond Sunday services and highlighted Bible verses, there’s a road that’s narrow, costly, and sacred. It's the road Jesus walked—and it's the one He invites us to travel with Him.

Through honest storytelling, rich Scripture, and soul-stirring questions, this episode explores:

– The difference between admiring Jesus and following Him
 – Why silence and wilderness seasons aren’t abandonment but invitation
 – What real obedience looks like in the hidden places of your life
 – How to recognize the “holy ache” calling you deeper into surrender

Whether you’re struggling to let go, wrestling with doubt, or just hungry for something real—this episode isn’t just content. It’s a calling.

📖 Featured Scriptures: Luke 9:23, John 6:66, Matthew 7:13–14, Luke 4:1

🎧 Listen with an open heart. Pause often. And let this be more than a podcast—it might just be your turning point.

Transcript

Episode Title: Learning to Follow Jesus

Soft, ambient music fades in… gentle, almost sacred

[Opening]

Hey Friends,

And welcome to Lost & Found: A Healing Journey Podcast.

Now before we start, I want to pray.

Dear Heavenly Father,
As we embark on this podcast, we seek Your guidance and blessing upon our words and the hearts of our listeners. May our discussion be infused with truth, compassion, and wisdom, reaching those who need it the most. We are grateful for this opportunity to share and connect, and we pray the You use this platform to spread the light and the encouragement to others. In Jesus' name, Amen.

If this is your first time here welcome, friends.
Let me ask you something, not as a preacher, not even as a teacher — but as someone like you. Someone human, someone in process, someone reaching for something that doesn’t break when the world does:

Have you ever truly tried to follow Jesus?
Not know about Him. Not like His teachings.
I mean follow — like leave-everything, cross-on-your-back, eyes-on-Him kind of follow?

Because when I started asking that question — I realized I had been admiring Jesus more than I’d been following Him.

And that realization wrecked me in the most beautiful way.


---

[The Illusion of Following]

We live in a world full of noise — podcasts, devotionals, videos, sermons. And yet… so few of us feel close to God.
Could it be that we’ve filled our lives with things about Jesus — and missed the actual walk with Him?

> “Then He said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.’” – Luke 9:23



Do you hear the weight in that?

Deny yourself. Take up your cross. Daily.

Not on Sunday. Not when life feels good.
But when it costs.
When the applause stops.
When it’s you, in a room, facing the mirror — and realizing Jesus doesn’t want just your habits.
He wants your heart.


---

[What Following Looks Like in the Shadows]

There’s a story in John 6. Jesus had just fed five thousand, walked on water — people were flocking to Him. But then He said something hard. Something confusing. And the crowd started thinning out.

And verse John 6:66 says this:

> “From that time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”



What did Jesus do?
He turned to the twelve and asked: “Do you want to leave too?”

He didn’t beg anyone to stay.

He doesn’t manipulate us into following.
He invites. And then… He waits.

He wants lovers, not slaves.
Disciples, not spectators.

Let that sit for a second.


---

[Are We Really Following, or Just Walking Beside?]

I once heard a man say, “You can walk close to Jesus, and still not follow Him.”
And I knew it was true because I had done it.

I had sung the songs, read the verses, highlighted the promises — and still clung to bitterness I didn’t want to surrender.
Still refused to forgive what felt unforgivable.
Still doubted that God’s way could ever be better than mine.

It’s one thing to say “Jesus is Lord.”
It’s another thing to live like He is.

Because following Jesus doesn’t mean adding Him to your plans.
It means letting Him interrupt them.


---

[The Silent Places Where He Leads]

Following Jesus means walking where it’s quiet.
Where there’s no spotlight.
Where obedience feels like obscurity.

Think of the wilderness — the place Jesus was led by the Spirit after His baptism.
That wasn’t punishment. That was preparation.
And in that silent desert, He didn’t have a crowd — He had a calling.

Maybe the dry place you’re in right now isn’t abandonment.
Maybe it’s invitation.

An invitation to unlearn the lie that faith means comfort.
To discover that Jesus doesn’t promise easy — He promises presence.


---

[The Beauty of the Narrow Road]

> “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction… But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14



Following Jesus will cost you everything you thought you needed to be happy.
But in return… you gain what you actually needed to be whole.

You learn to find peace without control.
Joy without performance.
Purpose without applause.

You learn to be still… and not be empty.

You learn that obedience is its own reward.


---

[He Walked First — You’re Not Alone]

Jesus never asks you to go somewhere He hasn’t already been.

He knows betrayal — He was kissed by it.
He knows abandonment — His friends slept while He wept.
He knows suffering — not just physical, but soul-deep agony.

So when He says “Follow Me,”
He’s not pointing from a mountaintop shouting orders.

He’s down in the valley.
Wounded hands outstretched.
Eyes full of mercy.
Saying: “I’ve been here. Let’s walk this together.”


---

[A Question That Will Linger]

I’m not here to guilt you. I’m here to wake something up inside you.

So I’ll ask again… not to condemn, but to call you deeper:

Are you truly following Jesus… or just inviting Him to follow you?

Because real following looks like:
– Letting go when everything in you wants to cling.
– Saying yes when fear screams no.
– Choosing love when bitterness is easier.
– Believing His way is better, even when it doesn’t feel that way yet.


---

[The Holy Ache]

If your soul aches… if there’s a holy restlessness inside of you — I want you to know: that’s not confusion.

That’s invitation.

That ache is God calling you deeper.
That ache is a cross-shaped key unlocking a resurrection you can’t manufacture on your own.

Let it undo you.

Let it draw you to your knees — not in shame, but in surrender.

Because it’s there, in the dirt and the tears and the letting go,
That you finally begin to understand what it means to walk in His steps.

Not perfectly. Not painlessly. But purposefully.


---

[Closing Prayer]

Jesus…
We are tired of pretending.
We are tired of playing Christian on the surface and drowning in silence underneath.
We want to follow You… really follow You.
Not because we’re strong. Not because we’re holy.
But because You are worthy.

Break our pride.
Disrupt our comfort.
Interrupt our plans with Your presence.

Teach us to follow You
In the desert. In the dark. In the daily.

We don’t want a faith that flatters.
We want a faith that forms us.

So here we are.
Not impressive. Not put together.
Just surrendered.

And that’s enough.
Because You’re enough.

Amen.


---

[Outro – Soft Instrumental Under Voice]

Thank you for sitting in this moment with me.
If this stirred something in your soul, I encourage you — don’t rush past it.
Sit in it. Write about it. Talk to God. Talk to someone you trust.

And remember…
The journey of following Jesus isn’t about never falling.
It’s about always rising.
It’s about walking, stumbling, weeping, repenting… and still choosing Him.

Every. Single. Day.

You are not alone in this journey.

Until next time… stay found.

Music fades out slowly