Episode 174: You Follow God...So Why Doesn't It Feel Right? (Neh. 11)

Have you ever obeyed God and then quietly wondered if you made the wrong choice? That question can feel scary because you did the “right” thing, you prayed, you tried to follow his lead and the road still got harder. Today we sit in that tension and name what many of us feel: faith can be uncomfortable, lonely, and costly, even when God is the one who led us there. 

We start with a real story of relocation during COVID, the kind of move that looks fine on paper but shakes up everything that used to feel stable: community, friendships, routines, ministry, even the simple comfort of knowing where you belong. Then we open to Nehemiah 7 and Nehemiah 11, where Jerusalem has rebuilt walls but an empty, underpopulated city. Nehemiah’s plan to repopulate the holy city through sacred lots highlights a bigger spiritual truth: God’s restoration often moves from external repair to internal surrender. 

We connect that biblical story to everyday Christian life, where spiritual growth means more than better behavior. It can look like rearranging your schedule to spend time with God, stepping away from relationships that dull your faith, rethinking finances, practicing forgiveness, and choosing words and actions that honor Jesus. If your life looks “rebuilt” but still feels empty, this conversation offers a clear next step: move in, get settled, and put God at the center, not just included. If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who feels stuck, and leave a review so more people can find the podcast.

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Transcript

A Friend’s Costly Relocation Story

Nehemiah’s Rebuilt But Empty City

Sacred Lots And The Call To Move

External Fixes Versus Internal Change

Settling Into God’s Ways Over Time

Putting God At The Center

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Have you ever followed God into something and still wondered, did I make the right choice? I know I have. It's like you know he led you there, but it's a lot harder than you expected it to be. Found yourself a little loneliness than you thought you would, and it's definitely uncomfortable. Well, today we're gonna look at what happens when God doesn't just rebuild your life, he asks you to rearrange it. Hi friends, I'm Betsy, and this is Moments to Ponder. If you sometimes struggle to understand the Bible and how it connects to everyday life, you're in the right place. This podcast is for those who struggle with shame, belonging, and feelings of not enough to finally understand the Bible and apply it to your everyday life so you can live confidently in Jesus, in your home, work, and relationships. In this episode, we explore what it means to follow God beyond our comfort and into calling. Because sometimes faith isn't about building something new, it's about being willing to move when God asks. We'll be talking about why a rebuilt life can still feel empty, what it looks like when we reorder our life around God, and how obedience, although it requires sacrifice, does lead to purpose. Welcome. This is episode 174. I have a friend that relocated into our area around six years ago, right during COVID. The move was due to a new job for her husband, but it meant leaving her friends, a great church, the home where her kids grew up, and even the nonprofit ministry that she had built from scratch. As she looks back on that time, she remembers how lonely it was, especially because of COVID. As the restrictions lifted, they found our church, and after a time she applied for and got the job on our church staff. Now, six years later, she still has moments of being the new girl in town, as she navigates friendships, expands ministry, and allows new groups to grow, new roots to grow. Although the move was voluntary and prayed over, there was a lot of sacrifice for my friend. Her husband had a given community in his new place of work, a place that would anchor him. She, however, had to find a whole new community, a new grocery store, and a new place to get the oil changed. It was really disorienting, and there were many nights where she wished they just hadn't moved. Have you ever followed God into something and wondered if it was the right choice? I think sometimes we forget that following God doesn't mean it gets easier. Sometimes it actually gets harder before it gets deeper. In Nehemiah 7, verse 4, we read that at the time the city, meaning Jerusalem, was large and spacious, but the population was small, and none of the houses had been rebuilt. The city wall was rebuilt, but the city wasn't full. And that matters more than we might think. For a city to prosper and be great, it must be populated. See, as the exiles had returned with Derebbal and Ezra all those years earlier, the majority of the people chose to live outside of Jerusalem, in villages, near farms and extended families. If you were to look at a map, you would see that the towns and villages where the Israelites had chosen to live were spread far and wide. And to be clear, they lived among others in these places, not just themselves. They were all different nationalities. But Jerusalem, I get the visual impression of one of those empty cities you see in the movies where the buildings are all vacant and there's this forgotten feeling permeating it. See, the walls and the temple were rebuilt, but the city needed work. And Nehemiah knew that the bigger the population of Jerusalem, the greater the resources for defense and strength in battle. And he didn't just rebuild the walls to see some conquering army come in and break them all down again. The economy, the care of the temple, the future growth depended on the city being lived in. And as we enter chapter 11, we return to the issue of Jerusalem's small population and its security needs, and we discover a plan to repopulate the city. But it will involve relocation. We are in Nehemiah 11, verse 1. The leaders of the people were living in Jerusalem, the holy city. A tenth of the people from the other towns of Judah and Benjamin were chosen by sacred lots to live there too, while they while the rest stayed where they were. The people commended everyone who volunteered to resettle in Jerusalem. Nehemiah writes of this so quickly, but think about this actual process. It's huge. The leaders are already living in Jerusalem, as they should be. They are about to bump the population by basically tithing people. One-tenth of the people from all the other towns of Judah and Benjamin. Through the census in chapter 7, we can assume that there are approximately 10 to 12,000 people, including women and children, that were a part of this massive relocation project. Nehemiah writes that the people were chosen by sacred lots, which was a common practice in those days. It was a way of trusting God in the outcome as the lots were chosen. And those who were picked were to follow God's choice and literally move to the city. Just think about the act of obedience that was. And living in the city made them a target for their enemies as well. I mean, no wonder those who didn't have to move blessed those who did. To honor the people involved, Nehemiah writes another list of names. The provincial officials, which included lists of the tribe of Judah from Benjamin, some priests, the Levites, and the gatekeepers. I won't take time to read them all, but I do appreciate that Nehemiah notes every single one of their families. Then he goes down to write another list of those who stayed to serve in the temple. And he lists the places where the people of Judah were living at the time. If you're on YouTube, you can see this on a map. Nehemiah lists the names and the places, not just for record keeping, which he does like to do, but to honor the people who said yes and were obedient, showing us again that each person matters. It's really good for us to remember that behind the walls and the festivals, the oaths and the move, Nehemiah is still focused on the why. His goal for there to be a stable, consistent, safe worship that brings life change for the people. For that to happen, there needed to be people running the temple and all that it required. And then that temple needed to be surrounded by people who lived within the walls of the city to keep it growing and vibrant. Nehemiah has had a plan all this time, and he's been working from the outside in. And friends, their story is our story. Walls being rebuilt, that's the external work that we have to do in our lives. But now the people need to move and do internal work. And we need to do the same. The people couldn't just look at the walls to help Jerusalem grow. They had to actually move into the city and live there. Be among. And it's the same for us. Changing the external things in our lives is important. Adjusting our behaviors to reflect Christ. But the real work of transformation and growth will be internal. We can have an outward expression of God, a nice looking journey from the outside, but never actually move into the life that He brings. If we want to grow spiritually, we have to relocate. We can't expect to transform life without adjustment. We have to move into his work, move into his plan for us. If we only look at our spiritual journey but don't actually engage in it, it's like the walls. They'll look nice, but be empty on the inside. We have to move in and get settled into his ways and acknowledge him as the center of it all. From my friend, getting settled into her new home took time. But she had to settle inside her home. She just couldn't look at the outside and think, wow, my nice house looks great. She had to move in and then she had to learn the neighborhood and the area around her. She had to adjust to this new way of life. And that's just like us. It takes us time to adjust, but we have to actually live in God's ways for our lives. Those who moved into the city had to renovate their new homes, a room at a time, and they had to get used to their neighborhoods. But you know what? Over time, their homes were settled, and they knew their neighbors, and they knew the city, and they completely adjusted to that way of life. That's what it's like when we begin to make choices that honor God in every area of our lives, whether it's word and actions, our rest, our finances, forgiveness, truly loving our enemies. The more we do this, the more comfortable it becomes as we settle into God's way for our lives. Ultimately, it's an act of obedience and it will require sacrifice and surrender as it leads you toward a transformed life. Much like the Israelites, this might mean changes for you. It'll feel unsettling. It might even feel lonely at times as you adjust to living in a way that reflects Jesus. Lonely, but not alone. It's uncomfortable to walk away from some relationships that hinder your walk with God. It's hard to adjust your day to incorporate time for Him. And it can be inconvenient to guide your kids toward Jesus in the midst of school and sports and help them with their priorities. Following God isn't always easy. It usually costs something. But it will lead you to something deeper and more meaningful. Transformation within us happens when we rearrange our lives to put God in the center, to have Him permeate all of the roads of our lives. We can have the structure of faith in place, but until your life is centered on Him, it will probably still feel a little empty. It's the process of discovery and learning and adjustment as you lean in that fills us. Dear one, where is God asking you to rearrange your life so that He's at the center and not just included? As I've been studying this chapter, the words of Jesus keep coming to me from Luke 9. If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. I feel like that's what the Israelites were doing, giving up their own way and following God. And that's what Jesus asks of us. It's not convenient and often involves sacrifice, but it fills us with the life that He has for us. Surrender, adjustment, sacrifice. I realize it is all hard. And just when you feel like you have life figured out, you discover something new to work on. So let me encourage you. It's a process that happens over a lifetime. It doesn't happen in a day or even in a week. And God is right here, loving you through it, helping you remember that to become more like Him brings us a whole new, transformed life that fills us. The walls were rebuilt. That was the external work. And now the people must move into the city. That's internal surrender. As we bring Jesus into the center of our lives, the emptiness fades as we reorder our choices around him. And even when those choices require sacrifice, we discover the wonder of adjusting our lives to his work, and we realize that on the other side of obedience isn't comfort, it's something better. It's growth, joy, peace, and love. As God loved his people, he loves you. When the doubts come and adjusting to his direction seems hard, just remember, he is with you, helping you move every day. Thank you for joining me today as we continue our journey through Nehemiah. I am truly honored that you've chosen to spend your precious time with me. I'll see you next Tuesday. Amen.