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
Your Shame Is Gone: How God Restores Dignity When You Feel Broken
Have you ever felt the crushing weight of shame? That heaviness that makes you want to keep your head down and hide from the world? “Thou anointest my head with oil,” those words from Psalm 23, offer a remedy that speaks to the heart of every person who’s ever felt unworthy.
David didn’t write this verse from the comfort of his palace. He wrote it on the run, stripped of everything, with his own son seeking his life. Yet, even in exile, he discovered something remarkable: the presence of his Shepherd brought him a joy no circumstance could take away.
In the ancient world, anointing oil was more than a religious act. It was a sign of honor, abundance, and joy, God’s way of lifting our heads and reminding us we still belong to Him. Picture a gentle hand reaching out, tilting your chin upward so you can finally look into your Father’s loving eyes. That’s what God does for us. He lifts our heads from shame and restores our dignity.
Because of Jesus, we stand completely forgiven. Our past is gone, and in its place is Christ’s own righteousness. We don’t have to define ourselves by our worst moments or our toughest seasons. In Christ, we’re made new beloved children, free to look our Father in the face with nothing standing between us.
This isn’t just hope for some far-off day in heaven. This is the life you’re invited into right now. No matter what shame or struggle you carry, God is anointing your head with oil today, inviting you to lift your face, experience His joy, and join the feast of His presence.
If you’re tired of walking with your head down, join us for this episode of Followed by Mercy. We’ll discuss finding genuine joy in the midst of pain, seeing our Shepherd instead of just our circumstances, and rediscovering what it means to be lifted from shame.
And to everyone listening around the world, Sweden, Switzerland, across Africa, and South America, thank you for sharing these messages of hope. If this episode helps you, pass it on to someone who needs to remember they can look God in the eyes again.
No matter what you’re facing, the Shepherd is with you, lifting your head, restoring your worth, and turning mourning into joy.
Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
we've already been looking at it here on Followed by Mercy podcast. I'm your host, austin Gardner, and we've already been looking at what the Bible says in Psalm 23. You know, psalm 23 is where we've been meditating and I don't have to repeat every day all that. We've gone over. But the Bible says Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine, enemies, thou anointest my head with oil, and we've already been talking about that just a little bit that he anoints our head with oil. We're trying to think of what that means. What that means that he anoints our head with oil. That's he's lifting our head. He's lifting our head and I've already preached you a message on that that I gave from where I preach at Shady Grove Baptist Church, and I hope you listen to it. If you haven't, go back and get that, and I hope, if this is being a blessing to you, you'll share some of it with other people. Thank you so much for listening. I'm excited that I'm starting to add some different people in to have a discussion about all these things, so that you can hear just two brothers in Christ talking about it. But I want you to think with me about this oil and about him anointing it.
Austin Gardner:When a shepherd anoints a sheep with oil, he's helping that sheep. Remember that God called him and God has him and no man can hinder what God's going to do. Now, when it's a sheep, that sheep's just feeling loved. That sheep's like I'm being bothered by the animals and the bugs. I've got this sore and I'm hurting. And the shepherd is saying you come here. And the shepherd is loving him and is being kind to him. But in David's case, where David is talking to the Lord, he's saying Lord, I'm in the pit, I don't know where to go and my life is over and I don't know what to happen. And he said but you're anointing me with oil, you're lifting me up, you're giving me great joy. See, oil was associated with joy. It was given to replace the mourning when they were worried and sad because somebody had died. It's the idea in the Bible of giving beauty for ashes. It's meant to cause us to feel joy. The word anoint in the Hebrew means to make fat, to saturate, to prosper. Do you understand? He's making fat, he's prospering you, he's saturating you. It's a symbol of joy and festivity. A party. It's refreshing and satisfying. It's to make you happy and to give you joy. That's what's happening. In the middle of all this going on and all the danger outside, david is able to say no, you know what? I am here, alone with God in meditation, and God is changing my life. So, wherever you are right now, whatever you're going through, I want you to pull away from that and get close to the Lord and let the Lord help you.
Austin Gardner:David's in the thick of battle. His son wants to kill him and David is focused not on his son but on his savior, not on his situation but on his shepherd. He has found joy in the middle of chaos. He has found joy in the middle of it all going wrong. David is seeing that God is turning his mourning into dancing. He's getting him out of the sackcloth of crying and weeping at the funeral and putting him into party clothes. Psalm chapter 30, verse 11 and 12. Instead of crying wildly, he's dancing in the flowers. He can't keep quiet because he sees how good God is. David is so joyful. He is determined to never stop giving thanks. I'm in the middle of it all and God is still taking care of me.
Austin Gardner:David hasn't got his throne back yet. He's still in danger. He still realizes David. David realizes his son, absalom, is there to kill him. He knows his friends against him. Everything's going wrong, but he's got his joy back.
Austin Gardner:You can have your joy, though you haven't reached all that God's going to do for you. You can have your joy, though you haven't reached all that God's going to do for you. You can have your joy back because you begin to understand God's blessings. You're not so tied up in what's happening as you're tied up in who the Savior is. What are you going through? Aren't you tired of the tears and the mourning? Aren't you ready to live again? You can, by focusing on your shepherd and what he is doing for you right now. Right now, I know it's bad and I'm not telling you it's over and I'm not asking you to deny reality. But he is, I am. That's present tense.
Austin Gardner:It says he says I, the Lord, is my shepherd. You say. And then he said you are anointing my head with all. God is anointing his head with oil. God is anointing his head with oil. God doesn't wait till you're dead to give you the good life. It's yours right now. You're in the middle of whatever's happening and there you can find joy. See, the oil takes the shame away. The oil takes the shame away. Now we discussed this, but I'll come back to it because I think sometimes you hear it two and three and four times. In Psalm 3.3, he said thou art a shield for me in my glory and the lifter up of mine head. You see, to me that is the most beautiful part of it all and it's what happens in Psalms 23.
Austin Gardner:David's alone and he's hurting, but he's not really alone. He can't be alone because the shepherd is with him. And while he's in the middle of the hurt and shame, his shepherd anoints his head with oil. He returns David's dignity to him again. He lifts his head. He lifts it again. He lifts his head. He lifts it up. He exalts it, he praises it. I want you to think with me Before the psalm starts.
Austin Gardner:David's probably got his head down. Tears are probably streaming down his face. He's probably thinking of all the mistakes he's made. He's thinking of all the ways he's messed up. He's thinking of how he deserves everything that's happened to him mistakes he's made. He's thinking of all the ways he's messed up. He's thinking of how he deserves everything that's happened to him and he's broken.
Austin Gardner:But in the middle of that he says the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And now he's lifting my head. It's like the Lord's lifting his head saying you, look at me. I can look at you face to face and eyeball to eyeball and cheek to cheek, because there's nothing between us, there's nothing separating us. I love you, right where you are and right what you're doing right now. Because I paid the debt, you're thinking no, I've got to say I'm sorry, I've got it. And he said no, no, no, you don't have to say you're sorry, I've already done it, I've already taken care of it, you taking care of it.
Austin Gardner:You see, through Christ, we are right now just and righteous and we're right with God. He has taken away our shame. He has taken away all of our failures and all of our sins that are on our account and he put them on his own account. And he took his righteousness and put it on our account. He put the very holiness of God on our account. We are in a right standing with God. Now. You look at me. I hear you. Right now you're thinking I'm not in a right standing with God. Yes, you are, just like now. You listen to me, just like David has messed up terribly. That's why he's writing Psalm 23,.
Austin Gardner:But in the middle of it he realizes, and more than David could ever realize it you're in the New Testament. Your sins are forgiven. God has wiped it away. He's fixed it. He's anointing you with oil. He's giving you victory over your enemies. Can you see it? Right now, he lifts your head so you can look him in the eyes. No more embarrassment about who you are or who you were, no more shame because of your failures or your sin.
Austin Gardner:The Father loves you like he loves his son in John 17, 23. Because of his love, grace and mercy have been applied to your heart. We can now boldly cry out to our Father Abba. And we know. Nothing stands between us. Nothing hinders our relationship. Jesus, our shepherd, tookba and we know. Nothing stands between us. Nothing hinders our relationship. Jesus, our shepherd, took it on himself. He has anointed us with oil. He is anointing us with oil right now.
Austin Gardner:I want you to know, right now quit walking around with your head hung low. You don't have to keep repeating I'm a drunkard, I'm an alcoholic, I'm a failure. Low. You don't have to keep repeating I'm a drunkard, I'm an alcoholic, I'm a failure, I'm an adulterer, I've failed. Those sins are forgiven. You are a new creature in Christ.
Austin Gardner:Performance-based religion may call on you to think like that, but God doesn't. God has anointed us with oil, the oil of his sweet Holy Spirit. Like he anointed Jesus to do ministry, he's done that in your life. Our Father has anointed us. You are crucified with Christ, yet you're still living, but Christ is living in you. Christ lives in you and through you. We are never alone. You're not alone right now.
Austin Gardner:So, no matter how much you're hurting, no matter how much you feel bad, I challenge you to focus on your shepherd. See Christ and not the circumstances. See the Savior and not the situation. Know this that we live in a sinful world and you will hurt and there's hurt all around you. But our shepherd is right, here with us, giving us all we need. We too can say that goodness and mercy will chase us down all of our lives. He has lifted your head, so you're right with him now. You're in a right relationship with him. You don't need to fear speaking with your father. It's not just about the future moment, but the life you live right now. It's not about dying and going to heaven and it's all okay. It's okay now because God has wrapped you up in his wonderful, wonderful love.
Austin Gardner:They used to sing a song face-to-face with Christ, my Savior, face-to-face. What will it be when, with rapture, I behold him. But right now he's lifting your head so you can look him straight in the eye. Think about it. Feast on that thought. God has given you joy instead of mourning. He has given you life, and life, more abundant life, in place of death. If you're hurting, you can find joy when you learn to see it in your shepherd. The shame is gone. Take it on the cross. Jesus bore your shame, took your blame. You can live in great joy. The very Holy Spirit of God indwells you. You're accepted in the beloved. You are the beloved. Take time to meditate on the wonderful Psalm and remember who is doing it all. Thank the great. I am your shepherd. Thank him because he's the one making the difference in your life.
Austin Gardner:I want to thank you for listening to, followed by Mercy, this podcast. I want to thank you for sharing it. I want to thank you for the clicks. I want to thank you for putting the likes on there. I want to thank you for what you're doing. Slowly, god has given us some traction and I'm just excited about it. I want to thank the people that are listening overseas I'm just thrilled in Sweden, switzerland, in Africa, in South America, I'm just excited that you're listening and I pray God's richest blessings on every one of you.
