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
The Authorized Blessing: Why the Father Smiles on You
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"The greatest blessing isn't material; it's the living God walking with you."
In today’s episode, Austin Gardner takes us into Numbers 6 to examine the "Priestly Blessing." For many, the idea of "blessing" feels like prosperity gospel talk—but Austin shows that God authorized His leaders to speak life, protection, and favor over His people.
Highlights from this episode:
- The King’s Face: In ancient times, the King’s look determined your life. Austin explains why God’s "shining face" is the ultimate security.
- Shalom in Chaos: Why biblical peace is about completeness, not just the absence of noise.
- A New Testament Connection: How Jesus is the fulfillment of every line of this Old Testament blessing.
- Practical Application: How to use these verses as a prayer for your children, your spouse, and your church.
Connect with Austin:
Visit waustingardner.com for more resources, books on marriage and leadership, and personal mentoring.
Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Rediscovering Spoken Blessing
Austin GardnerGod has been so good to me. One of the things I've been studying is how many times God's people, the leaders, the pastors, the prophets, the priests, the elders were to bless God's people. It's something I think is kind of lost in our churches, lost on me. And so I've just done a little study of it. I do remember when I was a kid and some of the churches I went to, I grew up in a Southern Baptist church, and some of the pastors would walk out and they'd hold their hands up on both sides and walk down the aisle, and they would repeat a blessing over the people. And I just remember thinking that's kind of weird. I didn't understand what was going on, but it was so biblical what they were doing. And so I just want to share with you a little bit today from the blessings of God from Numbers 6, 24 through 26. That's the Old Testament. You know, sometimes we think of God as being really harsh in the Old Testament and then full of grace in the New Testament. But he's actually, God is love all through the Bible. God is good all through the Bible. And anytime you want to understand what God looks like, you look at Jesus and you'll see God and what God looks like. And so I just thought I'd run you through this little thought right here. The Lord bless thee, bless you, and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. I cannot imagine a pastor standing up in front of our people and saying, Boy, I want God to bless y'all this week, and I want God to take care of you and watch over you and keep you, and I want God to make his face shine on you, and I want God to be gracious to you, and I want God to lift his countenance upon you, and I want God to give you peace. I think we'd be thinking to ourselves, man, he's gonna liberal. Or is he telling us to live right and do right and don't do this and don't do that? What's happening in the passage? Well, God's speaking to Moses, and Moses is to tell Aaron and his sons, the priest, I want you to say this blessing over the people of Israel. You shall bless the people of Israel. This isn't a prayer, it isn't a wish, it is God authorizing blessing over his people. Now, I know it's gonna shock you, but I'm gonna over the next few days share, I think, with you more about this. But these blessings are a New Testament idea too. We'll get to that. This is one of the most famous blessings in the Bible, and it shows us God's heart for his people. God has a desire to bless his people, and it actually shows us what true blessing is. So the main idea of this passage of scripture is that God is blessing his people. That's what I want you to get a hold of and understand here. God is asking his man to tell them that he is protecting them, that God's presence goes with them, and that they have God's peace. The main idea is that the greatest blessings is the presence and favor of God. There are three great lines here: protection, favor, peace. And every one of them begins with the Lord, and everyone goes longer and deeper. The Lord, Yahweh, I am, is repeated three times. All the emphasis is upon the fact that it is God and God alone that is blessing. The point is that the Lord bless you and keep you. That means he blesses you. That means he gives you life. It means that he gives you favor, it means that he gives you what's good. That's that's Old Testament blessing includes fruitfulness and provision and protection and relationship. And uh it's all coming from God. And God told the man to put that on his people. The meaning of keep is to guard, to protect, watch over. So God watch over you and protect you till we meet again. It's like a shepherd protecting his sheep. It's like the Lord keeping you from evil in Psalm 127. God is our protector. That's what's being talked about. Our safety doesn't come from money or power or security. It comes from God watching over us. We can pray this today. Lord, bless my family and keep us. That includes physical protection, spiritual protection, and protection from sin. We know God likes it because he told a priest to pray it over him. Then he said, The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. That is amazing, isn't it? That's amazing. The Lord make his face shine on you. God's favor. Uh is an ancient, it's an ancient culture, it's old culture that we don't have, but it's when the face of the king looked at you and blessed you. If he looked at you with favor, you would be safe. If he looked at you in anger, you'd be in danger. And so when God's face shines, it means that God approves us and favors us, and God is close to us and God is intimate with us. Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord, Psalm 4, 6. It's the idea that God smiles upon his people. And then he says, be gracious to his people. That means to give them undeserved kindness, grace. That means mercy from God. Israel didn't deserve blessing, neither do we. But God chooses to be gracious because God is gracious. In fact, is when he gives his name, he says that. How does all this connect to Jesus? The greatest example of God's grace is Jesus Himself. John 1, 16 and 17 says, From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. Through Jesus we receive forgiveness and mercy and a relationship with God. Most of us today need not more success, not more possessions. We need the grace of God. We can pray for his blessing. Lord, please let your favor rest on us. The Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 626. Lift up his countenance, God turning his attention towards you, him facing you, him looking at you with care. It means God noticing you. That's powerful because sometimes we feel forgotten, unseen, unnoticed. But God sees us, gives us peace. The word for peace is shalom. Shalom means more, no, it's more than no conflict. It means wholeness and well-being and completeness and harmony with God. True peace can only come from God. Jesus said, My peace I give to you. Peace comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Many people today lack peace. They have anxiety and fear and stress. But God offers shalom through Jesus and He tells them to bless them that way. So how are you going to use this today in your life and in your ministry? I want you to speak it as a prayer. You can pray this blessing over your family and over your children and over your church and over your friends. Lord, bless them and keep them today. You can speak it as encouragement. You remind people that God desires to bless his people and God wants to protect us and God wants to show us grace and God wants to give us peace. The blessing ultimately points to living in relationship with God. The greatest blessing is not material, it's the living God Himself, walking with us, experiencing His presence. So there's some beautiful teachings here. God's heart towards us is to bless, protect, show grace, give peace. And the ultimate of that is Jesus Himself. Through Jesus, we receive God's favor, God's grace, and God's peace. So today we can pray. The Lord lift his presence, his countenance upon you and give you peace. I just want you to know today that God wanted his men, his preachers, to say that to the church. I wonder how our people would feel if they heard God wants to bless you. We reject that almost like it was a prosperity gospel, but it's Old Testament. God wants to bless his people. God loves you today. I want you to take that with you. And I want you to never forget it. You are loved. God bless you. God causes face to shine upon you. God notice you and pay attention to you. God keep you and take care of you. God protect you because that's what he wants us to say to you. God bless you.
