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
Our Shepherd Keeps Covenant
Most people know Psalm 23 by heart, but few understand the depth behind the words, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” These aren’t just comforting lines from a funeral service or a wall plaque. They are a declaration of covenant, a bold, soul-settling statement about who God is and how He loves us.
In this episode, we go beyond the surface of Psalm 23 to explore the kind of love that makes a crippled man dine like royalty and turns a fallen king into a worshipper full of trust. What David writes here isn’t due to a peaceful life or a perfect track record. On the run, he penned these words in dark places, misunderstood and wounded by betrayal. And yet, something deeper anchored his heart: God’s unbreakable covenant love.
To help us grasp this, we look at the story of David and Jonathan, a friendship forged in emotion and sacred promise. Jonathan made a covenant with David, loving him as his own soul. That covenant outlived Jonathan. Years later, David went out of his way to find Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth.
By all cultural standards, people should have killed Mephibosheth, a potential threat to the throne. But covenant changes everything. David didn’t see a rival. He saw a promise. And because of that promise, he welcomed Mephibosheth, not just into safety, but into fellowship, restoring his land, honoring his name, and seating him at the king’s table as one of the king’s sons.
That’s the gospel in living color.
Life broke us, leaving us spiritually crippled, hiding in fear and shame, unable to heal ourselves like Mephibosheth But God came looking for us. He sought us out, not because we cleaned up our act, not because we begged Him to—but because He made a covenant. And He always keeps His promises.
This episode unpacks what that means for your life today:
- God’s covenant love isn’t conditional. It’s not based on your performance, feelings, or past. It’s based on who He is.
- God initiates relationship. He comes to us when we can’t go to Him.
- God’s love restores dignity. Like Mephibosheth, you’re invited to the table—not as a servant, but as a beloved child.
- Failures don’t disqualify you. With all his mistakes, David still boldly said, “The Lord is my shepherd.” You can, too.
- This love doesn’t fade with time or death. It’s eternal, rooted in the finished work of Christ.
Psalm 23 is not a sentimental poem. It’s a covenant anthem. A declaration that the Shepherd is faithful no matter where you’ve been or how far you’ve fallen. He has prepared a table. He restores your soul. He walks with you through every dark valley—not because you earned it, but because He promised.
So, if you’re tired, ashamed, lost, or just trying to hold on—this episode is for you. Come and rediscover the Shepherd who doesn’t walk away. The One who brings you out of hiding carries your weakness and calls you His own.
This is the kind of love that changes everything.
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We are talking very plainly about Psalm 23. In Psalm 23, we see, the Lord is my shepherd and I need you to understand how good a shepherd he is. We said I shall not want, but I need you to understand how good a shepherd he is. And so it takes me back to the word we talk about when we talk about him, that he keeps mercy. And just let me go into that just a little bit deeper. You see, what it means is that God keeps his word, no matter what it costs. God keeps his word. No matter what you do, god keeps his word. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. God keeps his word.
Austin Gardner:He gives us a beautiful picture of that in the story of David and Jonathan. You see, god is a God of covenant, love. God loves us in a covenant, not a contract. In a contract it's written on I doubt you. If you do this, I'll do that, if you don't do this, I won't do that. Or if you do this, it's all about if and you I would do it to you, you'll do it to me, or something of that nature. But in this story right here, we see what a covenant is. And God has covenanted with us, his people in Jesus. In 1 Samuel 18, verse 3, david and Jonathan made a covenant because Jonathan loved David like he loved himself. That's exactly how God loves us. That's exactly how God loves us. He loves us like he loves himself. And so, in essence, david and Jonathan obligated themselves one to another, and in this story, god has obligated himself to us. We couldn't do that, but he did it. He has a loyalty beyond anything that we can imagine. It ought to be mutual, but it's a loyalty that God has towards us. He is good and he's always loving.
Austin Gardner:In all the time that David and Jonathan were both alive and they were working, jonathan risked his life for David. His own dad threw a spear at him. His dad said do you not realize? David is the one that's going to take your kingdom from you and I'm trying to preserve your kingdom. And Jonathan's response was I want David to be the king and I'll be his second right, next to him. Then Jonathan died in battle. David is finally free to be king. You would think that the covenant was over. You would think that the promise he made was over, but it's an eternal, never-ending covenant promise. It's the kind of covenant promise God made to you.
Austin Gardner:So in 2 Samuel 9, verses 1 through 13,. Jonathan, you know he's off hiding. He is concerned. I mean David wants to kill him. It's the way it's always done. Jonathan died but his son, mephibosheth his only one that's living. When Jonathan and Saul died, the servants ran hiding and they dropped Mephibosheth and that's why he's crippled now. But they knew they had to get him out of there because kings kill previous kings and their family, anybody that could be a rival. David had not nowhere in his mind was that going to happen, but it's what everybody believed. And now Jonathan's boy, mephibosheth, is off hiding in the land of Lodabar, barren land where nothing is.
Austin Gardner:And David one day starts asking questions. He said I made a promise to Jonathan Is anybody still alive in Saul's excuse me, is anybody still alive in Jonathan's family that I could do good for them? Now you've got to imagine people in the court. They probably got nervous, they probably got worried about that. What's he mean? What's he going to do? Is he going to hurt him? Is something going to happen here? But he said I want to do good for him. I made a promise. I want to be good for him. I made a promise I want to be merciful to him. And finally one of the servants piped up and said I know where he's at. You can imagine.
Austin Gardner:Over where he's at, the Ephesus ship is planning a revolt. He hates David. He lives in bitterness, anger. He can't believe that he's not the king. And so David sends and gets him. He doesn't really want to come, but he doesn't have a choice. He probably figures he's going to die when he gets there. But instead of dying, what happens is David says don't be afraid, I want to be merciful to you because I made a promise to your dad. Well, he didn't belong in a court because he's crippled, and if you're not good looking and strong and handsome and all that, you can't be in the court. But David says you sit at my table. We'll cover you with a tablecloth, no one will pay attention to that, and I will feed you at my table and I'll take care of you. I'm restoring to you what your dad owned. I'm going to take care of you. I will be good to you.
Austin Gardner:What's interesting is Mephibosheth never said I want this. Mephibosheth never asked for it. Mephibosheth did not deserve it. Mephibosheth did nothing to fix this relationship, nor did you, nor did I. But God did that towards us. God sent his son who died in our place. I couldn't get to God. God came to me. I couldn't get right, but God made it right. You understand that this is beautiful, beyond compare it is.
Austin Gardner:Jonathan made a promise and David made a promise, and David is keeping that promise, even after his buddy is dead. He said you will eat at my table from now on. So I want you to know that this God who said the Lord is my shepherd, this is a guy that David's talking about. He keeps his word. The Bible applies to you. You don't have to worry about that. You don't have to doubt that. I just want you to know that.
Austin Gardner:I want you to know that, as much as David kept his promise to Jonathan and took care of Mephibosheth, god keeps his promise. He made to Jesus to take care of us. God wants us, loves us and sought us. Jesus loves us, the Holy Spirit All have come to get us and God made a promise to us and he'll never change it. You do not have to worry about that. You serve a God who says the Lord is my shepherd. Yes, he is, and he loves you beyond anything you can imagine, beyond anything you could have ever dreamed of. He loves you, then.
Austin Gardner:I want you to know that he feels for you today. I need you to know that. I need you to know that he feels and understands what you're feeling. He knows your fears when I lay in the bed at night and I was tempted to feel the tumors and to be scared and to worry. God understands that. Jesus understands that. He lives in me. I'm not separated. He is one of us.
Austin Gardner:God became man to be one of us, to understand us, and I want you to know that he forgives sin and rebellion and the bad attitudes that we have. I want you to know that in Isaiah he carries our infirmities, he suffers our pain. He died for us. Our sins were cast on him because we all want to do our own thing, we all want to go our own way, but thank God that he keeps his promises. He keeps his covenant. He that never knew sin became sin so that we could be made the very righteousness of God in him.
Austin Gardner:So I just want you to know today that the God that is your shepherd loves you. He hasn't forgotten you, he understands you, he knows where you're living, he cares about you, he hurts for you and you have no idea what that means. It's a love beyond all. It's a love that changes who you are. It's a love that loves you even though you messed up. David has blown it as a dad. He has blown it as a husband. David has blown it as a dad. He has blown it as a husband. He has blown it as a king.
Austin Gardner:But in this whole psalm, david doesn't go into that. David simply says he doesn't go. Let me tell you about my sin, god. Let me beg, let me grovel. He just knows what the truth is. I'm a dumb sheep, maybe, but the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. And he knows that, and he believes that and he trusts. And that's what I ask you to do.
Austin Gardner:We're in Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. We're in Psalm 23. We're not going to quit. The Lord is my shepherd. We're in Psalm 23. We're not going to quit. We're going to see that the Lord is my shepherd. He is going to take care of us. He knows you, he's there in your life, he's working right now. You do not need to be concerned about whether or not God loves you. He keeps covenant, he keeps his word, he feels for you. He loves you, right where you are, and no matter what you did to get there. Whether somebody else did it to you or you did it yourself, that doesn't change anything. Your shepherd is your shepherd, he loves you and you shall not want.