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
Light In A Dark Christmas
This conversation explores the themes of light and darkness during the Christmas season, emphasizing that while Christmas can be a time of joy, it can also bring forth feelings of grief and darkness. Austin highlights that God enters into our darkness rather than waiting for it to dissipate. The message is one of hope, assuring listeners that the light of God shines even in the darkest times and that they are not alone in their struggles. Ultimately, the conversation reassures that darkness does not have the final word, and God's love and light are ever-present.
takeaways
- Christmas can be a time of joy and grief.
- Darkness is a real part of the Christmas story.
- God enters our darkness rather than waiting for it to leave.
- The light shines in darkness, and darkness cannot overpower it.
- Jesus understands our suffering and darkness.
- Light does not negotiate with darkness; it simply shines.
- We are not alone in our struggles; God is with us.
- Darkness does not get the final word in our lives.
- God's love and light are always present, even in tough times.
- Christmas is a declaration that light has come.
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Christmas can be bright, lights everywhere, music playing, people smiling for pictures, and yet for many people Christmas is also heavy. If this is a season when darkness shows up uninvited, empty chairs feel louder, hospital rooms feel colder, memories feel sharper, grief feels closer to the surface. Some people can carry darkness quietly into Christmas and feel guilty for it as if somehow out of place is feeling joy right now. But the Bible never pretends that darkness is not real. In fact, it tells the Christmas story by starting there in the darkness. John opens his gospel saying, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Before angels, before shepherds, before Bethlehem, God starts with eternity. Then he moves straight into contrast, and the light shined in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. That verse is not just fluff. It's a declaration of war. Light against darkness. What John is saying is simple. Darkness did not stop him. It did not overpower him. Darkness did not win. But here's what we often miss. The darkness was already there when the light arrived. Christmas didn't happen in a bright world. It happened in a dark one. Politically unstable, spiritually dry, socially divided, morally exhausted. Four hundred years of silence had passed since the last prophet spoke. People were not singing, they were waiting. They were tired. And into that darkness, the lightness, the light did not shout. It shone. John says that was the true light, which lighteth every man that comes into the world. Notice what it does not say. It does not say that the light removed all the darkness instantly. It says the light shines in it. That matters. Because many people quietly believe this lie. If God is with me, it shouldn't be dark. But Christmas tells us something different. God does not wait for darkness to leave before he enters. He enters the darkness. Matthew tells us where Jesus was born, not in a palace, not in a home, but in a stable. That's not sentimental. That's dark, cold, dirty, smelly, uncomfortable. That is where God chose to show up. Why? Because darkness does not scare him. It never has. Isaiah said, The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light, and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Notice the wording, they walked in darkness. They dwelled in the shadow of death. And light came. And after the not after they escaped it, but while they were still in the darkness. Christmas is not the story of people climbing out of darkness to find God. It's God stepping into darkness to find people. That includes your darkness, loss, depression, fear, chronic illness, cancer, loneliness, disappointment, the kind of darkness that does not go away when you sing louder. John says the darkness comprehended it not. That word comprehended does not mean understand, means overtook, overpowered, overcame. In other words, darkness could not overpower the light. Herod couldn't, Rome couldn't, rejection, betrayal, not even the cross, not even the grave. The light was not stopped at Christmas. It was not stopped at Calvary. Luke tells us that darkness covered the land when Jesus was crucified. There was darkness on the earth until the ninth hour. Darkness tried one more time, and it failed. Because three days later the stone was rolled away and light walked out alive, which means this. The worst darkness imaginable did not win, so neither will yours. That does not mean your darkness is small. It means his light is stronger. And here is where Christmas becomes personal. Light does not argue with darkness. It does not negotiate with it. It simply shines. You do not turn on a light and then debate the darkness. The darkness leaves. Slowly or suddenly, but it leaves. Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. He did not say you will never face darkness. He said you will not walk in it alone. That's different. Some of you listening right now are walking through darkness that feels stubborn. It has lasted longer than you expected. Prayers feel unanswered. Joy feels muted. Hope feels fragile. And you wonder quietly if the light has dimmed. It has not. Light does not dim. It cannot. It shines because of what it is, not because of how you feel. John said, God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. No darkness at all. Which means even when you cannot see him clearly, he has not changed. Here is the grace of Christmas. God did not send light from heaven. He came as light in flesh, in weakness, in tears. Jesus wept. Jesus grew tired. Jesus felt sorrow. Which means he knows what darkness feels like from the inside. He suffered being tempted, so he's able to succor or to help all them that are tempted. He's running to our aid. It shows up. Maybe the most comforting truth of all this is darkness does not get the final word. Revelation tells us where this story begins. And there shall be no night there. They need no candle, neither the light of the sun, for the Lord God gives the light. Revelation 22. No night, no shadow, no fear. But until then, the light shines here, in hospital rooms, in grief, quiet grief, in tired hearts, in long winters. Christmas does not deny the darkness. It defies it by declaring that light has come and it cannot be stopped. Not then, not now, not ever. If you're listening in the dark this Christmas, hear this clearly the light has not missed you. It has come where you are, and it's still shining right now. He loves you. I want you to have a very Merry Christmas, and I want you to realize just how much our Father loves you. Mercy and goodness are following you, pursuing you all the days of your life.
