Followed By Mercy
The Followed By Mercy Podcast
Real Grace, Honest Hope
You might notice a new name and a fresh look, but the heart behind this podcast is the same. After years as the World Evangelism Podcast, I sensed God leading me to a deeper, more personal path centered on His relentless mercy and the kind of honest hope that can reach into every hurting place. That’s why this show is now called Followed By Mercy Podcast. The format may shift, and the tone may be a bit more personal, but my mission hasn’t changed: I still believe the world desperately needs to hear the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ. You are welcome here if you’ve been with me from the beginning or just found us now.
What if God’s love is more personal, stubborn, and relentless than you ever imagined?
Welcome to The Followed By Mercy Podcast, where we get honest about pain, hope, and the kind of grace that finds you right where you are, five days a week. This isn’t about religious performance or church routines. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt worn out, unseen, or unsure if they belong in the story of God’s love. Every conversation is rooted in this reality: God loves you right now, just as you are, and He isn’t giving up on you.
Here’s what you’ll find in every episode:
Experience God’s Relentless Love
Every show starts by reminding you that the Shepherd knows your name, cares about your story, and isn’t offended by your failures or questions. This is personal—it’s about God’s unwavering affection for you.
Find Your Place in His Heart
Once you grasp how fiercely you’re loved, sharing that love with others doesn’t feel forced. It becomes the most natural thing in the world. Real grace overflows.
Prayer That Changes You
We pray together—not just for the world “out there,” but for the battles and hopes you’re carrying right now. These prayers are honest, rooted in Scripture, and meant for hearts that need a gentle touch from the Shepherd.
Discover Your Unique Role
Whether you’re called to go, give, serve, or show kindness in your corner of the world, God’s mercy meets you where you are. You’re not just a bystander. You are His beloved, invited into the story He’s writing.
When life knocks the wind out of you, this is a place to catch your breath. You’ll hear the encouragement that meets you on your hardest days, and your honest questions will be welcomed. No pretending, no heavy-handed advice—just the reminder that your Shepherd is right there with you, walking every step with you, even when you feel like giving up.
Why does this matter? Because some days, it feels like nobody sees you or cares what you’re going through. But the truth is, you have a Shepherd who never takes His eyes off you, lets you slip through the cracks, and never gives up on you. That kind of love can put you back on your feet, and it might be the hope someone else is waiting to see in you, too.
If you’re longing for more than just religious talk—if you want to know you’re not alone and that God’s mercy is following you all the way home, you’re in the right place. Whether you listen in the car, on a walk, or in a quiet moment, let every episode remind you: God’s mercy is after you right now, ready to bring real grace and honest hope.
Subscribe today and join a community to discover what happens when loved people become loving people. The journey’s just beginning, and there’s a place for you here.
Followed By Mercy
Thou Art With Me
Some valleys feel so dark you can barely see your hand in front of your face. Maybe you’ve walked through one—or maybe you’re in the middle of one right now. In this episode, we’re talking about the heart of Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.”
When family lets you down, friends vanish, and you start to wonder if even God has left you behind—this truth remains: You are never, ever alone. David, who wrote this psalm, failed more ways than most of us can count. He wasn’t just a king; he was a man who blew it as a leader, a father, and even a follower of God. But right in the middle of all that, David doesn’t question God’s presence. He declares it: “Thou art with me.”
It’s easy to focus on where we fall short. But the beauty of Psalm 23 isn’t about how good the sheep are—it’s all about how good the Shepherd is. You can’t earn His presence. You don’t perform your way into His love. The Shepherd chose you. He bought you with His own life. And for believers today, the promise goes even deeper: God doesn’t just walk beside you—He lives within you.
If you’re facing anxious thoughts or waves of loneliness, don’t look for comfort in all the old distractions. Instead, lean into this unshakable reality: The God who knew every failure and weakness you’d ever have—He’s chosen to be with you through every valley, every shadow, every season.
Take this with you, wherever you find yourself today: whether it’s a lonely commute, a quiet living room, or another night where nobody calls—He is with you. “Thou art with me” isn’t just a comforting thought. It’s the foundation that holds when everything else gives way.
Join me as we meditate on the truth that your relationship with God isn’t based on your performance. It rests on His relentless grace. The valley doesn’t get the last word—His presence does.
Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Well, I want to take you back to Psalm chapter 23 and verse 4, and that'll be your thought for the day. See, each day I'm trying to give you a thought of what I want you to remember that day and what I want you to constantly remind yourself of, because that's what meditation is. So you spend the day thinking about what we talk about. The Bible says in 23, 4, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff. They comfort me. So I just want to talk to you about this. You are never, ever alone. Thou art with me. You're never, ever alone. He will never leave you.
Austin Gardner:Now I know your family might've left you and your friends might've left you, and you may feel like you're abandoned and no one cares about you. And no matter what wicked thoughts are attacking you right now and saying that God left you, that is not true. He promised to never leave you or forsake you. Fact is I'll be honest now. You need to really focus on this. If you walked away in sin, if you did things you weren't supposed to, if you jumped the fence, ran away from the sheepfold and were living your own life, which that's happened to all of us. He came after us, he came with us, he lives in you and he never stops that, so you are not alone. While you were running away and while you were doing what you shouldn't be doing, he was chasing you. He was calling you back to himself because he's there and he has not left you.
Austin Gardner:David says you are with me. Now wait a minute. Wait a minute, let's back up. David said you're with me. This is a guy who has been a lousy dad. This is a guy who didn't do well with his children. He let Amnon rape Tamar without any discipline. He let Absalom kill Tamar. Absalom killed Amnon not really any discipline. Then he wouldn't even get things right with Absalom. He killed Uriah to take his wife. He's not been a good king. But he says you're with me. Are you focusing on the truth of the verse? See, david is not going. I hope you're with me. David is not saying would you come back and be with me? Would you restore me, because I know I'm not with you? That's not what he's saying at all.
Austin Gardner:Have you ever felt alone, abandoned, forsaken and forgotten? Do you often think about your failures and sins and mess ups and figure it's okay that even God might abandon you or leave you because you do not deserve God's love and his attention and help. Right now, at this point in your life, You're honestly, you just you're imagining this entire scenario. You've come up with all these things in your head. You almost accept your fate as karma. It's something you deserve. You sowed it. Now you're going to reap it. You heard that preaching all your life In public. You blame others and excuse yourself. You play the victim in public, but in the heart of hearts, when no one's looking. You know you blew it and you ruined it all. That is not what God wants you to think or feel.
Austin Gardner:The Holy Spirit teaches the opposite in Psalm 23. David has failed in every way possible. He disobeyed God in counting the people. He committed adultery. He committed murder. He failed as a dad, allowing one son to rape a sister and another son to murder the raping brother.
Austin Gardner:It's not very possible for any of us to do as badly as David or as sinfully as David did, but David knew something that you and I must learn and apply. Thou art with me. I know the preacher even kind of made it sound like that wasn't true, didn't he? Performance-based religion bases everything on what you're doing and not on who. God is no-transcript. But David knew something and we've got to learn that and apply it. Thou art with me. He's with you.
Austin Gardner:Today, I know you feel like no one cares and you feel like no one loves you. You're retreating into your selfish little hole because you feel like I'm alone. Life's terrible. You're even contemplating ending your life. When David is at the bottom of the pit, he goes. I know I'm bad, but the Lord's my shepherd. Yeah, I know I've done wrong, but the Lord's my shepherd and he's with me. The Lord is with me. David knew that. The I am the God of heaven. The Lord is with him.
Austin Gardner:It wasn't about what David deserved or what he earned. It's grace. We are followed by mercy. It's grace. It's grace. It was not about the sheep, but about the shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. He didn't say I'm the best sheep the Lord's got. I'm the best sheep the shepherd's got.
Austin Gardner:The psalm doesn't focus on how good the sheep is or how bad the sheep is. It focuses on who the shepherd is and how good he is. The sheep doesn't deserve that shepherd. The shepherd purchased the sheep. The sheep didn't purchase the shepherd. The sheep didn't earn the shepherd. The shepherd bought us, we, those sheep. They belong to God.
Austin Gardner:And David makes a declaration that I've got to learn to say and you've got to learn to say and you got to declare it from your heart and you got to repeat it to yourself all day long. Today, it's not about you, not about your character or your conduct. It's about the shepherd and his character. In Psalm 23, we are told about the shepherd, not about the sheep, about the shepherd, not about David. So think with me, thou art with me. You are with me, right in the middle of the psalm. No fear, no want. Plenty of food, drink, encouragement and refresh soul Direction. But much more than that, much higher than all of that, thou art with me. Could you consider that great truth you can't escape God. Your shepherd, david, knew that and that's why he wrote. This is what he said.
Austin Gardner:David wrote when shall I go from the spirit? How can I get away from your spirit? How can I flee from your presence? If I could go all the way up into heaven, you're there. If I go down into hell, you're there. If I take wings in the morning, even there you're with me, your hand leads me, your right hand holds me. The darkness may cover me, but even in the night you are the light about me. I can't hide in the darkness. The night shines as the day. The darkness and light are both alike to you. God's with you today.
Austin Gardner:Believe the word of God. Don't believe the voice of the accuser, don't believe the voice of the condemner. That verse came from Psalm 139, 7 through 12. Do you get it? There's nowhere you can go to escape his presence. God fills every speck of the universe. It's his universe. He created it, he owns it, he possesses it. I am stands outside of time and creation. He is the God of all. He was before and forever and will always be. We will never be alone. Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see, says the Lord. Do not. I feel heaven and earth. Jeremiah 23, 24.
Austin Gardner:What a passage of scripture. Why would you ever want to be separated from him? He always has your best interest at heart. He's not wanting to punish you. Sin's already punishing you enough. You're getting a slot beat out of you. But it's not by the Lord, it's by the wages of sin is death. Sin brings all that junk on you. I am said to follow him to his people, israel, but it applies us too. He said fear not, I redeemed you. I've called thee by name. You are mine, thou art mine. So when you pass through the water, I'll be with you. And now, the rivers and all that overflow. When you walk through the fire, you won't get burned. No-transcript, because I'm with you. He is with you today.
Austin Gardner:Now, as a New Testament believer, you can know even more than David ever could imagine. He's not just with you. He lives in you. God lives in you. The Holy Spirit of God lives in you. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He will never, ever leave us. He will never forsake us.
Austin Gardner:I know you're scared. I know you're hurting. I know that it's pretty rough. I know that you wonder what's going to happen to you. I know that in the night, when the lights are off, you want to turn on music or television or videos. You want to drink something, smoke something, do something, because you want to quiet all those nasty thoughts in your head. That's not what you need to do. You want to grab a hold of this. I will meditate on the Lord.
Austin Gardner:Psalm 23, 1,. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want Now listen to this and even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because you are with me. I need you to take that home with you Today. I want you to meditate on this. He is not leaving you alone. He has not abandoned you. He will not abandon you.
Austin Gardner:You say I messed up, that's okay. He knew you was a mess when he abandoned you. He will not abandon you. You say I messed up, that's okay. He knew you was a mess when he saved you. He saved us because we were sinners, we were weak, we were ungodly. Well, we were still sinning. Romans 5, 6, 7, and 8. Let's just look at Bible and believe the Bible. Let's accept what the word of God says. Let's not go by what man says about it. So today, while you're working, he's with you. While you're driving, he's with you. While you're alone, he's with you. When no one will call you on the phone, he is with you. Thou art with me. Think about that all day long. How good God is.
