Followed By Mercy

You Don't Have to Run Anymore

• W. Austin Gardner • Season 2 • Episode 47

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Have you ever felt far from God, like you’ve wandered too far to find your way back? In this episode, we step into David’s story in Psalm 23 and discover something beautiful: God hasn’t been waiting for us to return. He’s been chasing us all along with His goodness and mercy.


We’ll explore how David moved from spiritual drought to the deep confidence that he would dwell in God’s house forever. The Hebrew text reveals a breathtaking truth: when Scripture says, “goodness and mercy shall follow me,” it isn’t a casual trailing behind; it’s an aggressive pursuit. God’s love doesn’t wait at a distance. It runs after us.


Like the father who ran to embrace his prodigal son, God welcomes us home without conditions, without probation, without second-class status. We don’t live as visitors in His house, but as children who belong.


When we understand this, everything changes. We stop striving to live for God and begin resting in the truth that God lives in us. Fear loses its grip when we know our eternal home is secure. Gratitude rises naturally when we realize His mercy has been chasing us our entire lives.


If you’re weary, wandering, or just longing for deeper connection with Him, this message will remind you of the heart of the gospel: You don’t have to run anymore. Your Shepherd has been pursuing you with relentless love. It’s time to come home.

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Austin Gardner:

Oh, I'll take your Bibles if you would turn me to Psalm chapter 23. Psalm, chapter 23. How many of you would agree there have been times in your life when you were a lot closer to God than other times? Would you hold your hand up? How many of you would say I have kind of wandered away from home more than one time and come back, but I have wandered away. Hold your hand up, is anybody like that? Yeah, I think that's some of us.

Austin Gardner:

In the story we find in Psalm 23, david in Psalm 23, saying I will dwell, I will live, I will stay, I will abide in the house of the Lord forever. That's what he's gotten to now. So I want you to go with me just real quickly through the story, because in the story what happens is David is over here and he is in a pit and he is in danger. And, to be blunt and honest with you, I think he kind of probably grew a little cold, a little stagnant, like we do. You know, things are going okay or we're dealing with stuff, but we're not where we ought to be, and I think that's where David was. And when David got down to the bottom of the barrel in the penny party and he just can't go anywhere else. He said the Lord's my shepherd, the Lord's my shepherd, the Lord's my shepherd. I know I've messed up as a husband and a dad and a friend and a leader, but the Lord's my shepherd, he's still my shepherd, no matter where I am, he's my shepherd. And he got to meditating and thinking about all that the Lord had done for him and Jesus is our shepherd. He said it in the New Testament I'm the good shepherd. He got to thinking. You know, ever since I've been, ever since I've belonged to the shepherd, I've never wanted. He's always met my needs, he's always taking care of me. In fact, sometimes I got so discouraged I didn't know how I'd go forward, but he's always restored my soul. Sometimes I didn't know how to take the next step because I was in a bad place, in a dark place, but he leads me in the paths of righteousness, for His name's sake.

Austin Gardner:

I've been down in the pit where I thought I was going to die and I just couldn't take it anymore. But His rod and staff were with me. I knew he'd protect me, I knew he'd guide me, I knew he'd direct me, I knew he'd take care of me. And you know, the fact is, when I think about it, in the middle of the worst chaos in my life, he's always more than met my need. The fact is is I'm a child of the king and I'm living like the wildest, craziest person in the world, by the grace of god. He was so excited he said he anoints my head, he lifts my face, he looks me in the eyes, he he wipes away those tears and he says I love you. Did you know? He doesn't want you coming to him with your head bowed down and whining about how bad a person you are. He's looked at you and says I already fixed all that, I already paid all that, I already fixed everything so we could have this relationship. And he lifts our face and looks us in the eye and, face to face and cheek to cheek, he loves us.

Austin Gardner:

And David got to thinking about it. He said in fact, I'll just be honest. And David got to thinking about it. He said in fact, I'll just be honest. My life is going so good it's like my cup runs over. And then he made a comment. He said are you believing this? He said in the pit, I'm starting to realize something All my life goodness and mercy been chasing me. Sometimes I wasn't where I was supposed to be, but goodness and mercy been chasing me. Sometimes I wasn't where I was supposed to be, but goodness and mercy were right on my trail. Sometimes I was doing the wrong thing, but goodness and mercy were still there. Fact is, if I look back on it, god has been good to me. And that's where he's ending.

Austin Gardner:

I love the way he ends the psalm. I love how he starts the psalm and he goes the Lord's my shepherd. Like I'm waking up. I'm realizing who I am. I'm realizing my identity in Christ. That's what you need to do. And he changes the focus from himself to the Lord and I love that. And I love the way he ends the psalm and he goes and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. It's like he's saying I made up my mind, I'm going to stay in the house of the Lord. It's like he's like I'm the one going after God.

Austin Gardner:

All along, it's been God coming after us. Can I get an amen there? Now you listen to what I'm about to tell you. Listen, he wanted to dwell with you before you ever thought about him. He came looking for you when you had no interest in him. He died on a cross to save you when you hadn't even been born yet. He paid all your sin debt because he loves you. And that's what's going on.

Austin Gardner:

You know, everybody on this planet wants to belong. We're chasing after belonging. We want to fit in. We want a place where we're accepted. We want to enjoy success and approval. We want relationships and money. But everything this world offers doesn't last. Friendships fade, success becomes a thing of the past and we end up our lives striving and working for stuff that doesn't really matter. In Psalm 23, david ends it saying I'm not fighting to get it, I'm resting in it. I'm not fighting to get it, I'm resting in it. I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Austin Gardner:

He's not bragging. He's not saying I finally got it, I finally made it, I'm getting there. He said I got here because I've been chased here by goodness and mercy. I have no idea if you've ever been chased by a rooster on the farm. How many of you in this room have ever been chased by a rooster? Come on, if you have been around a rooster, then things can be mean, and more than one time I ran in the house and slammed the screen door. You don't know what one of them is either, do you? You've got to be a poor country boy to know that. I slammed that screen door and that rooster came running straight at me. Thank God I made it in.

Austin Gardner:

Surely the rooster chased me in the house and David said I'm back home, but surely goodness and mercy have chased me here and gotten me here. What would you do if you could stop running and stop striving and finally rest at the home you were made for. You were made to be the temple of the God of heaven. You were made to live in open, face-to-face fellowship with him. You don't strive your way into God's house. You get chased in by surely goodness and mercy he chases us in. It's the God of love. Look at verse 6.

Austin Gardner:

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. Now, that's King James language, but the Hebrew language behind that word follow is more like when the state patrol is following you down the interstate. It's that kind of follow. Have you ever had that happen? I mean, I can't even drive. When they get back there, I get so nervous I can't hold it in line. I'm like, oh, he's going to get me, he's after me, he's after me. That's the word that's being used here. He shall follow after us. You know what? The Lord's been on your tail. He's on your trail, he's watching you, he's behind you. You can run as far as you want to run, you can run as fast as you want to run, and he'll just keep right on your trail. You're not getting away. Some people try to get away from the cops, or some get caught. Well, you don't get away from. Surely goodness and mercy They'll follow you. They'll chase you down, they'll hunt you. They're not polite, they're in relentless pursuit. They're after you.

Austin Gardner:

David was not being hunted by enemies. You see, when he went in the cave, when he went in the pit, he went in thinking my enemies are chasing me. But when he meditated a little while, he realized it's not my enemies chasing me, it's the Lord wanting me right back where I belong. It's the Lord calling me to be where I'm supposed to be. Mercy is hunting me harder than my enemies is hunting me.

Austin Gardner:

Grace is not you finding God, grace is God finding you. So why don't you give up and accept it? How would that change it? You know, I think about goodness and mercy chasing us down. It's kind of like adoption. When a parent adopts a child, you know they go looking, they go chasing, they go finding and they say we want that kid and they adopt that kid and that kid becomes a part of their family. That's the kind of follow we got here. That's the kind of follow that says we've been looking and looking and praying and begging and crying. Chris and Anja cried for years wanting God to give them babies. For years they cried, wanting God to give them babies. For years they cried, wanting God to give them babies. And then God laid on their hearts to be able to adopt and they chased down and found and adopted two wonderful children. What would happen if you realized God's mercy is what's chasing you, not your mistakes. God's mercy is chasing you and he loves you, right where you are. How would that change the way you face tomorrow morning when you get up? You don't stumble into grace, you are pursued into grace. Now I want you to notice the word that he uses in Psalm 23, verse 6. He said I will dwell and I want you to notice this somewhere you don't visit, you belong. You see, when you dwell somewhere, that's where you live, that's my dwelling, that's my house, that's where I belong Now.

Austin Gardner:

When I was a boy we had none of y'all know anything about this. You didn't have a country mama, but we had these towels that we used. You could see through them. I mean, you held them up. They was worn out, they had holes in them. You could see through them. Only poor people use them kind of towels.

Austin Gardner:

But when somebody was coming to visit, my mama got out the good towels I mean they were the softest things I've ever seen in my life you couldn't see through them. They didn't have any holes in them and she said don't y'all touch them. Towels, them's for the visitors, them's for the visitors. How many of you ever lived like that? Come on, anybody. Come on, chris, don't raise your hand. Okay, now watch it. Watch it.

Austin Gardner:

You see, when you dwell there, it's your house. When you dwell there, you walk in the bedroom. You don't go. Do you mind if I go in the bedroom Because it's your bedroom? Go in your bedroom, say amen, it's yours. You dwell there, it's where you live. You don't even think about it. David says I will dwell, I will remain, I will belong, I will make it my home. I'm not going for a visit on the weekends. I'll dwell in the house of the Lord. Now, when you dwell, you don't strive.

Austin Gardner:

I don't know that you might be able to understand this crazy comparison, but 52 years ago, a little over 52 years ago now, I got married. Now I was an insecure, almost 19-year-old, 18 years, and I'll act three days turning 19. Skinny, skinny, skinny. People used to think I was sick because I never gained weight, no matter how I could eat a horse and I wouldn't gain weight. I wish those days would come back. Say amen.

Austin Gardner:

But anyway, betty and I got married and we went to our little house. I can't explain it. We went to our little house, we walked in our little house. It only had four rooms. Really, those four rooms would probably fit in one room of our house. Now they were pretty small and we went in our room. We went in our house and we had our stuff in our drawers and we had our food in the refrigerator. I'd have to ask Mama if I could get it in the refrigerator. I had my hand. That was a good feeling.

Austin Gardner:

Amen, and we were in our dwelling and I remember to this day that that first night I thought I am the most relaxed I've ever been in my life. She had accepted me, she didn't care. I was so skinny I couldn't hardly stand up in a breeze. I had to run around in the shower to get wet. She accepted me, she loved me and I felt that's dwelling David's like I've been running from. I ran away from Daddy's house, kind of like that prodigal son. I've been running from the. I ran away from daddy's house, kind of like that prodigal son. I've been out there. But you know, I've been thinking today as I write Psalm 23,. Oh, he's my shepherd. He's my shepherd and he still loves me and he's still working in my life and he's been good to me. I'm going home and I ain't leaving. I'm going home where I'm accepted. I'm going home where I belong. I'm going home where I don't have to feel like a visitor. I'm going home, I'm going home.

Austin Gardner:

What would change in your life if you realized you already belonged in God's house? I'm not talking about the church, I'm not talking about this building here. We belong here. I'm glad you're here. I think all of us are glad you're here. But somewhere much more important than this is the Father's house. By the way, you are the Father's house. By the way, you are the Father's house. He's already living in you. The Holy Spirit's in you and Jesus is in you and God's in Jesus and Jesus is in God and all of God's in us and we're in God. But you know, this relationship doesn't have to be so strained and so awkward. You don't have to do that because you belong.

Austin Gardner:

It's like that prodigal son story that they just sang about. It's like when the boy's coming home he's rehearsing what a jerk he's been, what a bad guy he's been. He's got a whole litany of confessions he wants to make and he's walking up and you can see him. Can you not see him? He's kind of dragging his feet, his head's down and he's looking at what he's going to have to say to his daddy. And he's dirty and he's messy and he's thinking I got to go under and tell my daddy I know I can't be your son, I know I can never be your son again. I know I couldn't even be a slave. Slaves get real good treatment in your house, but can I just be one of the men that stands on the street corners that you hire every now and then? That's what he's going to tell his daddy. That's not what the story says. The story says.

Austin Gardner:

He comes walking up like that and he's whining and talking, planning all that speech, and the father never listens to him. The father breaks every tradition there is. He picks up those long robes that he wears and he takes off running, which old men, rich men, never do in public. But it's his son coming home and he runs and he's so excited and he's got tears in his eyes and he grabs the nasty, pig, stained son up and starts spinning around and around in a joyous dance, saying my boy's home, my boy's home. The boy starts trying to talk and he says hey, kill the fatted calf. We're having a barbecue, invite the neighbors. We're having a party. My boy's come home, you belong.

Austin Gardner:

He ran, he embraced him and he welcomed him home. You know what he never said son, here's the conditions of you coming back. He never said now you're going to have to apologize and you're going to have to face some church discipline and we're going to have to bring some stuff against you. He just said he's home, he's home. He didn't come home as a servant. He came home as a son. He didn't come home as a second-class citizen. The Lord had made a major difference in his life and he came home.

Austin Gardner:

Christianity isn't me trying to live for God, it's God living in me. By the way, there's no condemnation for you. There's therefore now no condemnation. If you're in Christ Jesus, there's no condemnation. He took all the condemnation. I'll dwell, I will live there. That's where I'll be relaxed.

Austin Gardner:

If you really want to know what would be my most comfortable relaxing, we can't do it at our house because my wife won't do this. But it's when we just chill at our house. We got a good bed, we got good air conditioning. I can put on what I want. It works. You don't have to worry about why not. The hotel's got good air. I mean, I like living in my house. I can, just my wife can't. If there's a dish that's got to be washed, she's got to wash it. If there's a baseboard that needs dusting, she's got to dust it, and so I can be in there just chilling, woo, living the good life, and Betty's out there working and working, and working. But see, when you're home you can chill, you can relax, you're accepted. But I love what he says.

Austin Gardner:

Do you ever notice how the psalm ends? He said I ain't leaving this time Forever. He says I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. All of my days and beyond, I will live in the house of the Lord. I'm in His daily presence now and it's my eternal home. Later, you and I should be enjoying knowing God more every day. That'll be the goal of your life to know Him, to know Him, to know Him, to understand His character. That's what we've done in Psalm 23 is try to learn a little bit about Him. That should be the goal of your life. But you know, when we get to heaven, all we do is switch places. Where we're knowing Him, it ain't like it's a bad thing to go to heaven. We've been working on knowing him all this time and we're going.

Austin Gardner:

You won't understand this if you weren't missionaries, but there were times when we would sit with our kids and say now, this is a picture of your granddaddy, this is a picture of your grandmama, this is a picture of your uncle. We had to get them ready to come back. We brought our young son David back home. He's a 40-year-old man now, but we brought him back home. And my mother, our young son David back home. He's a 40-year-old man now, but we brought him back home. My mother got plum mad because when he wanted milk to drink, he'd say I let you. She'd be. Like what in the world, can't that boy talk English? But you see, he said I'm going home forever. That's what we're living in, that getting ready to be with the Father, because we're with the Father right now. Heaven's not a maybe, it's a promise, it's a real place, it's a prepared home.

Austin Gardner:

If you know you're secure forever, you can live today with courage. If you know, hey, there's nothing you or anyone else can do that can knock me out of my shepherd's care. There's nothing. I can't even get out of his care. I'm caught in his hands and these hands are in the father's hands.

Austin Gardner:

What if you lived this week like someone who already knows how the story ends? We do know how the story ends. Fear loses its grip when you know your home is secure. The same shepherd that chased you into the house is going to be welcoming you home. Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

Austin Gardner:

Eternity isn't about later. It's about changed lives. Now you don't have to wonder where you belong. We belong to the shepherd. We belong to the shepherd. You belong in God's house today and forever. And when the fears come and when the anxiety comes and when your life gets messed up tomorrow. You need to remember this Surely goodness and mercy are chasing me. You need to remember that You've been chased by His mercy your whole life and you don't have to run anymore. Some of you may still be living away and you kind of got a division and a brokenness between you and the Father, but he's there chasing you right now. He loves you. Why don't you just come home? Why don't you just trust Him? Why don't you let Him do the work in your life that he wants to do? Now let me just end this, psalm 23. This is it for me for a while, still thinking every day.

Austin Gardner:

I started this Psalm in a pit. I started this Psalm thinking about the tumors growing on the inside. I started this Psalm thinking about well, life's about over. I'm about to leave my wife. I started this Psalmsalm thinking about well, life's about over, I'm about to leave my wife.

Austin Gardner:

I started this psalm kind of discouraged and beaten and worried and scared. I started this psalm, sometimes wondering during the night I would have panic attacks. That kind of junk was going on. And I started this psalm and it totally changed my life. I sleep like a baby. I just go to bed now, like it's okay, because the Lord's my shepherd, it's okay.

Austin Gardner:

And when any kind of fear tries to come knocking, I just say you can say what you want to say. He's got a rod to stab. He's going to whip your backside. Amen, the Lord is my shepherd. Hey, I can look at it and say, surely, goodness and mercy All of a sudden. And look at it and say, surely, goodness and mercy. All of a sudden I began to live the life of the Christian. You know what the life of the Christian is. Gratitude, gratitude. I'm glad he saved me. Thank you, jesus. I'm glad he's been so good to me. Thank you, jesus. I'm glad he answers my prayers. Thank you, jesus. Our whole life is nothing more than boy. God is good. Thank you, jesus. So I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever, and it's honestly just going back to where we belong.

Austin Gardner:

In the very beginning, God made us and wanted to spend time with us. It's this wonderful story he makes Adam and Eve and he comes down and walks with them in the cool of the evening. God, god, creator, god, he came down and walked with them in the cool of the evening and then, when they messed up and they should have died. He came down and said I'll fix that too. And he sacrificed some sheep and covered them with skins and restored the relationship, and he never cursed them. By the way, he cursed the devil, he cursed the ground, but he didn't curse them, because he's a God that loves you. He's a God that loves you and wants you, and all through the Bible, it's the story of Him chasing us back to Him, him wanting us to be serving Him.

Austin Gardner:

And, father, where are you today? I want to take the last part of my life and I want to think about this. I want to know the Father and I want to share the last part of my life and I want to think about this. I want to know the Father and I want to share what I know. I want to know Him better every day. I want you to know Him better and I want us to be rejoicing in His presence and then, when he calls us home, he'll be like the most wonderful thing in the world, because we want to go see Him.

Austin Gardner:

Our family would get ready to come home. It was a sad thing when you left Peru to come back to the States, but, buddy, there was a party in the States. It was a sad thing when you left the States to go to Peru. The States would be sad but Peru would be happy and I'm going home one day, and some people here might be sad, but there's going to be a party up there because I'm going home. Amen, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

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