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
Dwelling in the House of the Lord: David's Journey from Battle to Belonging
Already Home. Dwelling in the Presence of God
Finding our true home in God’s presence changes everything about how we see our lives and our faith. In this final message on Psalm 23, we reflect on David’s profound declaration, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever,” and what it means for us today.
The Hebrew word for “dwell” means to sit down, abide, and remain permanently. This isn’t about occasional visits to God when life gets hard. It’s about living constantly in His presence. After battles, betrayals, victories, and failures, David learned that his security was never in his throne, army, or public approval. His only true home was God Himself.
The “house of the Lord” is more than a building. It’s a family and a belonging. David wasn’t just talking about heaven; he longed for daily communion with God, to share life with Him face-to-face. While everything in this world is fragile and temporary, God’s love remains steady and unshakable. Eternal life doesn’t start when we die. It’s already begun. God’s presence is not a prize for good behavior. It’s a gift secured by the blood of Christ.
Our confidence rests not in our grip on God, but in His relentless pursuit of us with goodness and mercy. As we conclude this journey through Psalm 23, may you be reminded that you are already home in God’s presence, and His love is chasing you down every day.
Thank you for listening to Followed by Mercy and for sharing it with your friends. The goal isn’t personal success, but that our Father would be known, loved, and admired for who He is and what He is doing.
Check out https://waustingardner.substack.com/p/whats-in-your-eyes-will-shape-what
Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Welcome back to, followed by Mercy, and I am back to talking with you about Psalm 23,. One of our last times that we'll be together in Psalm 23, I guess, although I may come back to it. It's radically changed my life and I hope that it's affecting your life as you look at it and think about it. But I'm down to again. I will dwell in the house of the Lord. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. David returns to the shepherd. You know he's tired from the battle, but he is renewing his communion with the Lord. David is a soul restored, a spirit lifted, and he's living in victorious fellowship. The moment that changed his life is the day he, in his heart, he comes back to where he belongs. He finally understood God loves me and his love is not fleeting or fragile. It's not far off. God totally loves me, with an unshakable, everlasting love. And he just said I want to live with God, not occasionally, not just during my crisis, but I want to move in. I will abide with him. I will dwell in the house of the Lord. See, david's understanding shaped everything about him. He finally understood. Boy, this is what God wants. His heart, his courage, his ambitions, everything orbits around the unfailing promise. God never leaves me. God's love is everything. See that word dwell that we use, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord. That means settling in, staying, belonging. In the Hebrew it means to sit down to abide, to remain permanently. So David's saying I am in the presence of God and I ain't leaving this time Wasn't talking about going to some church service. He wasn't talking about visiting God when it got convenient. He's talking about no, I am going to live in his presence. He said this is where I belong and I am not leaving. We live lives marked by danger and betrayal and success and failure. David recognized that that's all true in his life. But his security wasn't his throne, it wasn't his army or victories or public. He found that his security was in God's presence. That's the only home he'd ever need.
Austin Gardner:The house of the Lord is more than a place. It's more than a physical structure. That very idea of the word there means family, a place where you belong, the house of the Lord. He's not talking about going to heaven or living in eternal leisure in the heavens. He's wanting to be with a part of God, a part of God's family. He wants to be close to God's heart In all honesty. He's being enveloped by God's presence. He's sharing life with God, not a distant relationship, but face to face. He's living not as a servant, but as a son, not as a guest, but as one who lives in the house and comfortably lives there. And forever means forever. Eternity, length of days, a long time. He's saying this is a present reality, it's a permanent reality. I now know God's presence and I'm not leaving. He's speaking with certainty. He's not hoping for it. He said I will dwell in the house. This place was with God. That's not a wish, but a guaranteed reality.
Austin Gardner:God's presence was David's real home. You see, everything you have on earth, everything we have, is unstable and no matter what kind of influence or power you have, they're fleeting. Only thing that remains is God's presence. We were once young and strong and now we're old and a lot weaker. But God's not changed.
Austin Gardner:God's life is constant. His love is constant. It's unshakable. He's trusting in the I Am the covenant-keeping, the guy who keeps his word, the unchanging God. These are not rare moments. It's constant, no matter what David's done, no matter how many times he's failed as a king, as a husband, as a dad, as a friend, he's not abandoned. He's not alone. Even if he's in a cave, even if he feels like he's being attacked, he's not alone. Even if he's in a cave, even if he feels like he's being attacked, he's not alone because God's love has never stopped chasing him.
Austin Gardner:He wanted that close personal intimacy. He didn't just want God to get him out of trouble, he wanted to stay in that ongoing fellowship. He wanted to continually be near God. He wanted God's presence and to live in the love of God more than he wanted God's provision. He said I have dwelt, I dwell, I will dwell. That's what the words I will dwell in the house of the Lord means. So that changes the way you look at everything in your life. You are home in God. Your home is not a job, not a relationship, not a family, not achievement. It's God himself. If you're in Christ, you are already home. Wherever you are today, when you feel lost, say to yourself remember I am home because God's here. Anchor your heart in God's presence.
Austin Gardner:Life is unpredictable. Our health fails, people disappoint us, circumstances change, but God's presence never. Plant your heart firmly in God's love, settle there, refuse to live anywhere else. David's not going to passively hope for occasional blessings. He's living actively with God's love and mercy chasing him down. Goodness and mercy are pursuing me. You aren't waiting for eternity for life to begin.
Austin Gardner:Eternal life in heaven doesn't start at death. If you belong to Christ, he is already yours and you're already enjoying your eternal life. So live it now. Death isn't the ending. It's our doorway to a deeper experience. So there's a promise. There's this covenant relationship. There's this relationship of love that we have with the Father. That's behind everything. David's saying Goodness and mercy, those are promises from our Savior. He's made a covenant with us, a binding agreement. He's in love with us.
Austin Gardner:God's presence is not a reward for good behavior. He's not with you because you're good. It's unconditional. We are secure by the blood of Christ. We're not visitors. We are God's house. He lives in us. That's the whole point. It's union with Christ. We're not chasing intimacy.
Austin Gardner:See, david is learning that God's already here. You see, he ends up by saying I'll dwell in the house of the Lord. But he started out realizing hey, you know the shepherd's already here, the shepherd's already at work. In my life and the shepherd has been at work in my life. David's confidence was not in his ability to hold on to God, but in God pursuing him.
Austin Gardner:God loves you right now, right where you are, and I want you to understand that if you're a born-again believer, you're already living eternal life. You have it, it's home. So rest in his covenant love. Anchor your heart in God's covenant love. Don't build your life on shifting circumstances but on God's unwavering commitment. He's not far off. He's not waiting for you to earn closeness. He's waiting for you to realize he's already here. He made His dwelling in you. He is constantly chasing us down with goodness. Forever has already started. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, now and forever. You see, I am loves me, I am chose me, I am home with, I am.
Austin Gardner:I just want you to know today, want you to understand, as you've gone through Psalm 23,. He is deeply in love with you. If you have come up from the slump, if you come out of the pit, if you started to see light at the end of the tunnel, stay here and go deeper. It is my goal to know God like I've never known him before and to share with you everything I'm learning. I have so much more than Psalm 23. I am days and days ahead of what I want to share with you about our Father and who he is. I was just thinking when Jesus said. He said come unto me all you, that labor and every lady he said, and learn of me. Wouldn't that be a good lesson? Let's learn what Jesus says about himself. Can't wait to share that with you.
Austin Gardner:Thank you for being a part of Followed by Mercy. Thank you for sharing it with your friends. Thank you for helping me share how wonderful our Father is. The goal is not for me to have success in this, but for my Father to be known and loved and admired for who he is and what he's doing. Thank you for listening to Followed by Mercy, and I hope that you will continue to enjoy the rich sweetness that there is right now in your life. Look around. You're in his presence. He loves you. Goodness and mercy are chasing you. Don't forget it.
