Followed By Mercy

God’s Kindness, Not Our Merit, Changes Everything

• W. Austin Gardner • Season 3 • Episode 17

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What if the most complex parts of your life became the most transparent windows into God’s kindness? In this episode, we open Ephesians 2:7–10 and sit with a bold truth: salvation is a gift, good works are fruit, and the future is a stage where God will show the riches of His grace. That vision doesn’t shrink your pain; it gives it purpose.


We talk about what it really means to be saved by grace through faith, not by morality, effort, or ritual, but by mercy, initiative, and love. We explore what it means to be God’s workmanship, His craft, not our construction, and how the Holy Spirit empowers ordinary people to walk through extraordinary seasons. When grace does the saving, good works become evidence of new life, not a performance for approval. Pride dies, shame lifts, and the heart finds rest.


You’ll also hear a vulnerable story of living with Pompe disease, biweekly treatments, redirected dreams, and the slow work of gratitude in weakness. It’s a living picture of what it means to trust God’s providence when life hurts. When weakness meets mercy, purpose emerges. The Shepherd doesn’t waste valleys; He meets us in them and turns our scars into stories of grace.


If you’re weary, striving, or wrestling with why life looks harder than you hoped, this conversation is for you. Listen in, share it with someone who needs courage today, and subscribe for more grace-centered, Scripture-rich conversations that bring weary hearts back to hope.

Thanks for listening. Find us on YouTube, Substack, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Austin Gardner:

Well, I hope you're enjoying Ephesians as much as I am. It's just the word of God. We're just reading the word of God, but you can't just say just the word of God. Because this is the inspired and followable word of God. And he has been Ephesians 1, Robert. Don't you think it's been exciting? Oh, I love it. It's helped me out a lot just to think on these truths. And then and now we've moved into Ephesians chapter 2. And if you've been following along, we're coming up on what verse, Robert? We're verse 8 now. Well, I really would like to start there in verse 7 again. That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. And yes, that is eight, it definitely goes with it. But you know, our future, and Robert mentioned our future in a previous podcast, is that God's going to be showing off how good he is.

Robert Canfield:

That's that's enough to make you, at least me. He's to live at this moment. Not only does he give us life more abundant now, but we do live, like we talked about, in a world where there's a prince where there is a Satan that's out to seeking to destroy and divide and slander. And Romans 8 is clear about that this world is groaning and it's looking forward to redemption. And I don't want to be negative and all that, but that's the truth. You look at the world and you see a lot of trouble and trials, and it's because of sin, and it's because of who's controlling the world right now. And so it it we do have an abundant life. I don't want to get away from that. Right now, we do have a life that's that's seated in heavenly places at this moment. He's made us to seat or made us to sit in heavenly places, he set us together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So at this moment, God has given us a whole bunch of wonderful stuff. But even as we go through life, there is a lot of difficulties down here on earth. There is trials and sufferings and tribulations that we go through, but those aren't to be compared to the ages to come. The the future things that's going to happen where we get to show off how great and amazing and how loving and how rich in mercy this God is and how he saved us.

Austin Gardner:

I want to remind you, if you're listening, I know you're going through junk. I think Robert summed it up well. You're going through all sorts of junk. But you can never forget the Lord is your shepherd. That's right. And he will not allow you to have a lack. He will meet your need. And in the middle of all the crisis and the chaos and the things you're struggling with, he will be more than enough now. And in the future, he is going to brag. I love this, that he might show the exceeding riches of his grace. He wants to say, Let me show you how rich my grace was. He said, I want to show you how kind I have been. I think people don't realize that. He has been very kind to us, and he's done it all through Christ Jesus.

Robert Canfield:

It's why he sent his only begotten son down to the world because he loved us and it was his grace, and it was his kindness and his mercy.

Austin Gardner:

Well, I want to take everybody back. See, we're too man-centered and not enough God-centered. I want to take you back. It was his kindness for us through Christ Jesus, not through what you did, not through your morality, not through the church, not through baptism, not through your holiness, not through anything you do, but he did it through Christ Jesus. Because the whole story of Ephesians 1 and 2, everything is about his grace. That's the whole story of the Bible, is it not?

Robert Canfield:

It just shows us how great and how amazing God is. Even from the from the first story of Adam and Eve, even till in this passage right here in Ephesians, it's always been a good and gracious God that deserves praise and honor and thanksgiving.

Austin Gardner:

And I think what you've said is very valuable for right now. In verse 80, he starts off, for by grace are you saved. He's saying, You know, it's all been my grace. It's all been my grace. You were dead, you were separated, you had no way out, but by grace, I chose you. I reached down and I saved you.

Robert Canfield:

It was because of God's charitable goodness, his love, his great love, that he loved us, and we had nothing to give in return. And that's be honest with you, that's a big, that's a big obstacle for a lot of people to overcome, to think that we have nothing to offer. And it but it's true. It is, is it not? I mean, some people think that, well, I'm not that bad off. Or or I'm I'm a pretty decent person. And can I tell you, in God's eyes, he loved you so much that he sent his only begotten son. He wasn't willing to withhold him from you. But the reality is that we have been held under sin, and we have been dead in our trespasses and sin, and we have followed the course of this world. And the truth is, is that we had nothing to offer. There is nothing that we could do. There was no work that we could do to please him. There was no work that to make us accepted. There was no work to for us, and it's hard to say that we were, I guess, in need. Yeah, we were helpless. Without strength, Romans 5, 6. And it's it's a hard thing. But can I remind you that when we think that we are just being we are just being blinded by the the prince of the power of the air, it's just a lie, a deceit.

Austin Gardner:

We are the creation, we are not the creator. That's right. We are the children, we're not the father. We are the sheep, we're not the shepherd.

Robert Canfield:

He uses us to obtain the praise. He gets the praise.

Austin Gardner:

Yeah, I don't let's be careful how we use the word uses us. He works in us to get the praise. I know how you mean it, but somebody out there is going to try to say, well, he uses us, huh? He doesn't use us, he rescued us. That's right. And he wants praise for it. So for by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves. It's a gift of God. Everything about you, everything about me is a gift from God, because God doesn't want human beings boasting.

Robert Canfield:

Salvation is not of ourselves. Salvation and God's grace, Him giving us this loving, wonderful, great love and his mercy is not because of anything that we've done. It's all because that's who he is. That's what it's that's what it's stating here. It is a gift. It is a you can tell a lot about a person by the gifts they give. You can tell a lot by a person what they're what's going on in their mind, what's going on in their heart. And so what God did was he saw us in our helpless state. He saw us dead in our sins, he saw us following after the course of the war this world. He saw us following our our flesh and our own desires. He saw that we were children of wrath. But because he is so rich in mercy, because he is so full of great love, he gave us a gift that we could never earn in and of ourselves, and he gives us a life right now, a life more abundant, and a life future that's going to be to his praise and his glory.

Austin Gardner:

Well, I think that leads us to the next verse. We are his workmanship. I think that is the opposite of what we typically think of. Now, here's what we read, verse 10. We read that we were created in Christ Jesus unto good works. But the truth is, the emphasis in verse 10 is uh you didn't do it, I did it. You didn't do it, I did it. God said, We are his workmanship, and it's all God doing it.

Robert Canfield:

He ordained it, he created us, and it's yeah, it's his workmanship.

Austin Gardner:

So we are his handiwork, we are his handcraft, we are what he did, and instead of us thinking of what we're doing, it's the it's that's why I talk about it not being man-centered, it is honestly all God, and it's all that we were created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Yeah, we're going to do good works, but we're gonna do good works because after we have been raised from the dead and we're in Christ, that's who we are. That's right.

Robert Canfield:

And I was talking at breakfast, and they were going over my wife's story, and we were talking about that, and someone said something that that was very kind, and you like the he alluded to I had a good spirit and a good attitude about it all. And as I was thinking, you know, sometimes bad things in my life, you you know, our story, but I can get down. Does that make sense? I get real down, I get discouraged, I get frustrated, I pray, and I try to be. I'm a smart electric, and I I it's not that I don't revere and don't love God, but at the end of the day, you know, I say stuff that I that I end up regretting that I said, but then I look back and I'm and I I'm reminded that in though even in those times when I was saying stuff that I regretted, that God was there, and he put those thoughts in my brain, like, you need to be thankful for things right now. You need you can get through this. I've been with you this whole time.

Austin Gardner:

Let's let's just take a pause right here. Those that are listening don't know Kelly's story. Robert's been married to Kelly now for how many years? We've been married for 18 years. 18 years. And what Kelly has Pompeii's disease. Explain that.

Robert Canfield:

Yeah, so Pompeii is a form of muscular dystrophy, not MS, but muscular dystrophy, and she has a genetic disorder where she doesn't create enough enzyme in her life in her body to help. Uh it ends up causing her muscles to deteriorate and die.

Austin Gardner:

And the fact is, how long ago was she diagnosed?

Robert Canfield:

She was diagnosed 13 years ago. And if I recall, they didn't think she'd make 10 years. They never gave me a time period. When I asked, he said five, ten, twenty years. We don't know. And yet the Lord has blessed her. He has. He has. He's been extremely great towards us. No, no complaints. But she lives with difficulties every day of her life. Lives with difficulties. He he's God's blessed us. He's even blessed us where he's allowed us to live through it all. I mean, there was a time where when me and Kelly met, we wanted to be on the mission field, and we tried our best to be on the mission field, but it seemed like God wouldn't let the doors open.

Austin Gardner:

Well, I mean, with her disease, you are not really able to be it.

Robert Canfield:

Well, then her disease flared up after the birth of Charlotte, and it it's called Adult Onset Pompeii Disease. And so there's a movie out there called Extraordinary Measures, and it's it's kind of like the story of a of a of a guy who has a daughter or a kid, a child that has Pompeii disease, and he goes through extraordinary measures and Harrison Ford's in it. Anyways, but we we were devastated because we could go to the mission field, but we uh started seeing these symptoms. But the Lord just happened to have us 40 minutes away from one of the places that treated this. People actually relocated in the area that we live at because they have such a great healthcare system. There was like three at the time when whenever we were going through.

Austin Gardner:

Tell us some of the difficulties she lives with on a current basis. She gets an infusion how often?

Robert Canfield:

So she gets a six uh six hours. I say six hours, but the infusion usually lasts about four hours every other week. But she has medications she takes before, and there's a period of waiting time, and she gets an enzyme replacement therapy. She used to go down to infusion centers there and at Emory University, which have taken really good care of us. And all that's just been, you know, God working in our life, and He's been real good. But I brought all that up because like the guy was like praising me for my good attitude. And I look at myself and I'm like, you know, when I have a good attitude, it's really not, I mean, it's God that really is working in and through me. It's God that's bringing up those good thoughts. Like, I've been with you this whole time. I've allowed this and I've allowed that. And there's times when I really do fail. Does that make sense? I really do fail. I'm not a good guy. I get frustrated, I get, I get angry, all that. But then I look and I'm like, well, how can I, how could I have, according to this guy, such a great attitude? Is it because I have such a, you know, was it Kowana type guy, optimistic that I'm always optimistic? I was like, no, I'm I remember my prayer just last night. I remember what I was praying, you know what I mean? And I'm not that great of a guy, I'm not that optimistic guy. Is it because of friends I have? I have great friends. I got people like you that help me remind me of the goodness that God's been in my life. But as I look through it, it's always been God working in my heart. Oh, yeah, definitely. And it's and I think that's what what Paul's saying. We are his workmanship. We are created in Christ Jesus, he's the one that causes the great works, he causes the good stuff. He makes us, he enables us, not just enables us, he he lives the life that we need to live to us and he's living through us. And that's the grace that we need. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And that's what we need because we can't live this life without him. If I was if I was to look at my life and say, I'm going to focus in on the positive and I'm going to discipline myself on doing this, this, this, and this, and this, there's only a certain amount of junk people can take until they break, right? I don't care who you are. You might have extraordinary will, you know what I mean? One of those crazy guys that extraordinary will, but there's only a certain amount that you can take until you start breaking. There's only a certain amount you can take until you realize you're feeble and you're in need. But in reality, the Christian walk, it's always been a gift. It's been a gift of us our salvation. It's been a gift of us living the Christian walk. Even being able to have a good attitude, it's always been God working in and through us. Yep. That's what Paul says. He says, I am what I am by the grace of God. And he says that his grace wasn't given in vain. He said he worked harder than all. And he said, I labored harder than they all. He said, but yet nah, I it was God's grace that was working in and through me. I know it kind of paraphrased that. I think that's Colossians 15, 10, if I'm not mistaken. But it's always been God's grace. From him saving us even to right now, it's always him working through us. So when people see us and they see that good attitude, it's not because Robert's a great person. It's because Robert serves a great God.

Austin Gardner:

Amen. And God is living through you. And he is. And so if you're listening and you're hurting and you got things going wrong, Robert understands that and he's watched how God's worked in his life. Not only is his wife have a fatal disease, a limited time period, but both of your daughters have it. Two of your three daughters.

Robert Canfield:

Yeah, we Kelly was watching the girls, and she discovered that that the girls had some of the same difficulties that she had when she was growing up. And so that led her to want to speak to the geneticist and the and the neuromuscular physician or doctor. And they were so gracious enough to test the girls and find out that they have it too. But because it's adult onset, they still can monitor it right now, which is they're very thankful because they can collect the data, but it hasn't come to real effect like what Kelly had when she was falling down and no strength and that sort of stuff.

Austin Gardner:

So anyway, notice that you are his workmanship. That's the key of what you're saying.

Robert Canfield:

My key of it, yeah, it's him working in and through us. And anything that someone sees that's good, it's God working through us. It's always been God working through us. And he he causes us, he helps us. That's why he gave us the Holy Spirit, the comforter, to go it live inside of us and come alongside us. The paraclete, he's like our our guide, he's our helper. And in those difficult times when we just like, oh, you're frustrated, or oh like he he helps us keep us grounded, and he he he helps us, he lives the life through us. And that's the whole point. He wants us to glorify him. Because that way, when people look at you and they see that it's not Robert, that's great. It's the God of Robert. Amen. And that's what he wants.

Austin Gardner:

I hope that you would glorify God today, also in whatever troubles you're in. Thank y'all very much, and hope you'll consider that you are his workmanship.

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