Is following Jesus for the faint of heart? Is it supposed to be smooth sailing always because He “owes us” for being His disciples?
Certainly NOT, much to the chagrin of many of His followers, LOL.
The ubiquitous question: “If God is so loving, why do good people suffer”?
Well, that huge question won’t be sufficiently answered here, for sure!
But I CAN offer a way to point your heart in the right direction, by God’s grace.
Story Behind the Song
Being a musician, sometimes deep questions like that are best addressed in song.
This month’s “Manna from My Father’s Hand” Podcast/Blog focuses on one of my songs (Follow Me) that is the title track on my Indie CD entitled “Sacred Sojourn/Follow Me”.
Last month’s episode dealt with the “Greatest Father of all Time”, highlighting two of my songs which speak of our “Heavenly Father”, sung from a porch of the “Ocean Side Retreat” in beautiful Ocean Grove, NJ. (During a recent Women’s Retreat, I snuck up onto one of the porches while the others were eating breakfast and recorded a few of my songs.)
(BTW, if you are in the Ocean Grove, NJ area, I’ll be there singing live later this month—in the Boardwalk Pavilion at 1:00 PM on Friday, July 31, 2026. Hope you can join me!)
Follow Me
That song (Follow Me) was also caught on video on the porch that morning. Here is the story of that song, AND the story behind the entire album on which it is the title track.
This song is based on a beautiful and quite unique passage of scripture in Song of Songs (AKA Song of Solomon) 2:10-13.
“My lover spoke and said to me, ‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me. See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.’”
These words were originally written as a love story between Solomon and his beloved bride.
They are included in the Bible now in some ways, as an allegory of the love that Jesus has for His “bride”, the Church.
Here is the song that elaborates on that viewpoint (how He urges us to awaken to His love and follow after Him), sung from the porch at that lovely Ocean Side Retreat:
It’s a Sacred Sojourn
As mentioned previously, this song is the title song of a larger collection of Christian original songs (mostly my songs, with a couple of my husband’s as well). That particular album (Sacred Sojourn/Follow Me) is designed to take the listener on a musical journey echoing the Christian life.
The album would have been called “Follow Me”, but so many others had that title, that the “Sacred Sojourn” was added in to amplify the profound nature of our call to follow after Jesus.
So often in scripture (especially in the Old Testament, KJV), God’s people were referred to as “Sojourners”. In other words, they were mostly traveling from one place to another, and where they WERE at the time was simply a place to rest for a while and then pass through to their final “home” or destination.
Our Christian walk is much the same, as we navigate through this world, on our way to a “better land” (Heaven)
The Walk
At some point in our lives (hopefully), after striving to “make this thing work”, we come to the point that we realize it would serve us well to learn to “be still” and lay everything at the feet of Jesus.
We begin to follow after Him in joy and contentment. The first few songs deal with those days….
Then (as the middle songs on the CD address), there are often unexpected moments in our Christian walk, where it seems like life has simply smacked us upside the head. Sometimes we lose our perspective a bit through the fog of our emotions as these events test and try our faith. By the grace of God, as we place our hope and trust in Him, these same situations can be the source of the profound strength and resilience that He forms in the hearts of His beloved children.
The final songs on the album deal with the resulting maturity of our faith, which becomes deeper and more focused on Jesus, as He graciously leads us through every sorrow and joy in life, being faithful to lead us to our final destination, eternity in His presence.
Straight Paths
This album was my second solo “Indie” CD.
Helping me with the production were Jason and Kristina Roe (my niece and her husband).
By God’s gracious leading, we were in the “right place at the right time” to use a wonderful studio called “Quad Lakeside” in Greenwood Lake, NY, owned by a notable studio engineer Lou Gonzales.
Lou had graciously offered Jason the time to record in this incredible studio so that Jason could learn how to use the equipment.
Unfortunately, that studio is no longer in operation….
That is even more reason for me to look back and thank God for His leading and orchestration of events. Just as in the emphasis of the album, He leads and guides through every stage of our lives.
As the Bible says:
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)
This month’s episode of the Manna From My Father’s Hand Podcast was released in video format, so that I could not only highlight that song above, sung on the porch in Ocean Grove, but to also share some exclusive footage from the actual production time of the Sacred Sojourn/Follow Me CD.
While sharing much of this story verbally, this video also includes beautiful moments from that retreat I mentioned in Ocean Grove, as well as pics of my niece and nephew in the Quad Lakeside studio, and several pics that were taken during a photo shoot to use for the cover art of the CD.
If you’d like to join me in that video to get some more of the “inside scoop”, you’ll find it here:
Ups and Downs
Life BEFORE that time in my life, as well as AFTER has been like a rugged journey up and down hills … walking through lonely valleys as well as standing with my breath taken away by His majestic beauty gazing across mountainside overlooks.
One thing has been consistent, for which I am forever grateful: the holy presence of my beloved Savior, Jesus Christ.
Has this journey been for the “faint of heart”? No.
Has Jesus OWED me anything for being His disciple? Actually, no.
I owe HIM everything, to be honest.
Yes, He IS loving, and yes, there HAVE been challenges….
And by His grace, He has brought me through each one and crafted my heart to be like His own in the process.
May these words, songs and videos serve to inspire you that the same can be (and/or IS) the same in your life, my friend.
May He ever lead you in the Way of Life.
God bless you, and keep you.
Lisa Prokopowitz is a Christian Singer/Songwriter, Guitarist, Podcaster and Blogger who seeks to lift up the name of Jesus and draw hungry hearts unto Him.
Watch the single SONG (Follow Me) video mentioned in this article here:
Watch the PODCAST VIDEO version mentioned above here:
Listen to the podcast (AUDIO) version of this episode here:
https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/shining-river9/episodes/55–Story-behind-Follow-Me-e3m5rkf
Preview and/or download songs from the Sacred Sojourn/Follow Me album here:
https://lisaprokopowitz.bandcamp.com/album/sacred-sojourn-follow-me-2
To join Lisa Prokopowitz LIVE in person in Ocean Grove at the end of this month, see this page:
For more encouraging Christian content:
https://manna.shiningriver.com
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