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
Walking Through Without Fear
Have you ever noticed that David doesn’t run through his darkest valley? He walks. That’s not a throwaway detail. Psalm 23 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” David isn’t rushing, panicking, or looking for a way out. He’s steady, taking it one step at a time. Why? Because his Shepherd is right there with him.
Shadows have a way of making everything look worse than it really is. When all we see are the shadows, sickness, grief, bills piling up, and relationships on the rocks, fear grows and grows. David shows us a better way. He lifts his eyes and focuses on the Shepherd. Not the shadows. Not the problems. The presence of God is what gives him the courage to keep walking.
The valley of the shadow of death wasn’t just a poetic idea. It was a real place near Jerusalem, a dangerous stretch of road. Jesus Himself would walk through that same valley on the night He was betrayed. David knew what it was to face real trouble. He didn’t pretend it wasn’t there. He just knew Who was with him.
Maybe you’re facing your valley right now. You don’t have to run or hide. With Jesus beside you carrying His rod and staff, you can keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when you can’t see the end. You’re not just making it through. You’re being led, step by step, to the other side.
Remember, this promise isn’t something you earn by being “good enough.” It’s yours because the Shepherd is good, and He isn’t leaving you. If you look to Him today, you’ll find the strength to keep walking, no matter how dark it feels.
Psalm 23 isn’t just for Sunday school. It’s for anybody who’s ever felt lost in the dark, afraid, or ready to give up. The Shepherd is with you. You’re going to make it through.
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Well, I am back at this amazing verse and that's going to be what we'll meditate on for today, and I hope that you'll take that with you in everywhere you go. He says, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. And today I just want to focus on one thought in the verse walk. It says walk, don't run as you go through. So I guess maybe I'll put that as two words. It says, yea, though I walk through, walk through. See, there's no need to fear when you focus on the shepherd and not the shadows. You're not called to be a survivor, but a victor. You're more than thrive. And so I want you to look at the verse and realize that David says he's going to walk through the valley. That's just an interesting choice of words. He walks there's no mention of running in fear, just proceeding through the valley. He walks because he is not afraid. He states that in the verse. He said yea, though I walk to the valley of the Shaddath, I will fear no evil because you're with me. You see, he's not afraid. He's not afraid because he's with his shepherd. He knows his shepherd is there. He knows his shepherd has a rod and a staff. He knows his shepherd is his shepherd and he will will not want and the shepherd will provide every need. And even if he's scared, the shepherd will restore his soul. He knows that even though he doesn't know how to walk through that valley, the shepherd does know how to walk through that valley. So he is not afraid. He proceeds with his shepherd. He knows that the shepherd has the tools and the ability to protect him. Do you understand? He has the tools and the ability to protect him. He fully realizes that the shepherd is bigger than him, smarter than him, ahead of him, around him, protecting him, and he has all the tools to take care of him. He's not denying that it's a scary place. He said it's through the valley of the shadow of death, but he has a peace that passes all understanding. It's based on David's focus, not on himself but on the shepherd. You know that. We've looked at that before. David's focus is not on the shadow that brings fear, but on the shepherd. You see, it's in the valley of the shadows, not the valley of death. He walks through it. Instead of looking at the shadows, he looks at the shepherd. Now it's the valley of the shadow of death, and we'll look at that at another time, and you'll see that that was a real place. It was a scary place. It was a horrible place.
Austin Gardner:Shadows always, though, make things more scary than they really are. They play tricks on us. A shadow is bigger than the actual threat. It moves in and out in weird ways as we walk. What's lurking in the shadows?
Austin Gardner:You must choose not to look at the shadows but at the shepherd. When you look at the obstacle, you miss the opportunity to see the power and the strength of the shepherd. David almost seemed to know that he was going through. He walked through the valley as a believer. Even the valley of death, the ultimate enemy. We win. Death cannot win. We walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but we never really die. You see, our Savior overcame death and the grave. We're going to go through the valley of the shadow of death, but we never really die. You see, our Savior overcame death and the grave. We're going to go through the valley as a believer. Know that you can walk through with no fear because he, the Great I Am, the Shepherd is with you. Your focus is on the Shepherd and not on the situation. You are looking at the Shepherd in the middle of the night, not the shadows. You know that you can survive because the shepherd is going to take care of you and you're going to put your face on him. Now you need to understand.
Austin Gardner:There's an actual place near Jerusalem that they call the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It's like when we say Death Valley, they knew about this valley. It was the Valley of the Shadow of Death and it's probably up around the Kidron Valley, just outside of Jerusalem. And when you went down in the valley, the hills were so steep that it was shadowy and dark. And you went by the place where they burned and dispose of idols, the place where common people were buried. That's really where Jesus went. On the night of his arrest. He crossed the Kidron Valley to reach the Garden of Gethsemane where he experienced intense anguish before his crucifixion. People not sure exactly where it's at.
Austin Gardner:They debate the actual location, but it serves as a great reminder for us to study and look at, as we see, this valley of the shadow of death, because it's a place that represents anxiety and fear and isolation and loneliness and testing, and David is in great danger. See, we cannot ever deny what's really true that's going on. He's in great danger. His son and the whole army are out to kill him, and David is in a dark, dark place in his life. You may be in a dark place today. You may be in a place where it is so dark you wonder how you could stay alive. You may honestly wonder if you could stay alive, he said. David, though, is walking. He is moving through, traveling through the valley. For him it's a dark night. It's as dark as a deep cave. It's a valley of treason. Seeing his son, the traitor the traitor's in hiding and waiting to attack David speaks indirectly of the danger he's facing.
Austin Gardner:We too face shadows and threats and dangers that seem to lie in wait to destroy us. Maybe you're dealing with a life-threatening illness like cancer or something that incapacitates you, with a life-threatening illness like cancer or something that incapacitates you. Perhaps you've lost someone who's very close to you and you can't see moving forward or living without them. But we all know about these dangers. Often we face economic hardship, loss of work, marriage or family problems, addictions, habits, even thoughts of suicide plague many. We're in danger. We're, or at least we feel like we are. We want to survive. That's why this psalm so grabs a hold of my heart.
Austin Gardner:Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, David knows he's in danger. You know you're in danger. You're not denying the situation, but you're changing your focus to the shepherd. He knows the shepherd will see him through and he will walk through. As we go further into this, you'll see we have victory. He's not mentioning his situation. He's not focused on what's happening around him. He's not focused on the chaos or the confusion. He's focusing on the shepherd. We can get through without fear. That's the lesson. You hear it Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
Austin Gardner:I will fear no evil. You can. It doesn't matter what your past is. It doesn't matter about the abuse that you suffered. It doesn't matter about the wrongs you did, the mistakes or the failures. Your shepherd will see you through. You are more than a survivor.
Austin Gardner:Now I need you to listen to this as I close today. I don't know where you are. I don't know what's happening in your life. I know in my own life, as I deal with cancer, as I deal with a lot of chaos that's happened in my life. This psalm has changed my heart and changed my life. I'd do the same for you. See, here's the deal.
Austin Gardner:David's not got this happening because David's been a good boy. This is happening because God is good. David is not getting this because God somehow made David special. No, God is special and God is your shepherd and he cares about you. I don't know where you are, but right now he loves you, he cares about you. I don't know where you are, but right now he loves you, he cares about you, and all you need to do is turn to him and trust him. He will work in your life, he will change you, he will get you through this. Trust the shepherd Now, today, I want you to meditate on this. You're going to walk through. You're going to walk through. You're getting to the other side, You're walking, You're not running, You're not afraid because the Lord's with you today.
