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
Soul Tired? The Joy of the Lord Is God Rejoicing Over You (Nehemiah 8 Explained)
Ever wake up soul tired? Not physically exhausted, but drained deep inside. You love God. You’re trying to do what’s right. And yet the joy feels gone, like your strength has quietly leaked away.
In this episode, we take a fresh look at one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible: “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). Most of us were taught that joy is something we have to work up. Pray harder. Sing louder. Try to feel happier. But that isn’t what Scripture says. In Nehemiah 8, the people were weeping under conviction, and God interrupted their sorrow with grace. He didn’t demand more effort. He invited them to rest, to feast, and to receive His joy.
We explore the life-changing truth that the joy of the Lord is not you rejoicing in God, but God rejoicing over you. Drawing from Nehemiah 8, Zephaniah 3:17, Romans 8:31, John 15:11, Psalm 16:11, and Hebrews 12:2, this conversation reframes joy as confidence in God’s favor, not emotional positivity or spiritual performance. Sorrow drains strength. Joy releases it. And that joy is rooted in grace, not how well you’re doing.
This episode speaks honestly about illness, aging, loss, and long seasons where trying harder hasn’t made life easier. We talk about how Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him, and how that same joy steadies us in suffering without denying the pain. Joy doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine. It means trusting God’s love right in the middle of the hurt.
If you’re tired of faking happy, worn out from striving, or quietly wondering where your strength went, this episode offers permission to stop performing and start receiving. God delights in you. He sings over you. And His joy is strong enough to carry you.
Listen, rest, and let His joy be your strength.
#JoyOfTheLord #Nehemiah8 #ChristianEncouragement #GraceNotWorks #SoulTired #SpiritualExhaustion #GodsGrace #GodRejoicesOverYou #FaithAndRest #ChristianPodcast #BibleTeaching #FollowedByMercy
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You ever wake up and just feel drained, not physically tired, soul tired. You love God, you're trying to do the right thing, but somewhere deep down inside, the joy is gone. You're smiling on the outside, but inside it feels like your strength has leaked away. You probably heard the verse, the joy of the Lord is your strength. But what does that really mean? Most of us grew up thinking joy is something we had to muster up. Like if we just prayed harder, sung louder, acted happier, then God would be pleased. That's not what the Bible says. I love this. The Lord really woke me up and showed this to me. In Nehemiah chapter 8, the people were crying. They had realized how far from God they were. They were broken and ashamed and convicted. And right there, in the middle of their guilt, God says something unbelievable. In Nehemiah chapter 8, verse 10, he says, Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared, neither be sorry, for the Lord is your strength. That's kind of my way of putting that. But that's it. Did you catch it? God didn't say, feel worse, so you'll do better. He didn't say, stop weeping, my joy is over you. What that'll make you strong. The joy of the Lord isn't you rejoicing in him, it's him rejoicing over you. That's where the strength begins. Let's talk about what that means and how to live it every single day. In Nehemiah chapter 8, the people are weeping. They see how far they've fallen, but God interrupts their sorrow. The day is holy unto the Lord your God. Mourn not nor weep. You see, grace interrupts guilt. God's first word after conviction isn't condemnation, it's comfort. The law reveals sin. Grace reveals God's heart. God doesn't strengthen us by shame, but by joy. This really hit me hard because I always work up my own joy, and I somehow think that God wants me to be sorry beforehand. But it's not what it says. It says, notice the joy of the Lord. That really hit me. I'm 71 years old, and that hit me. It's God's gladness that He's sharing with us. Did you know God is not depressed about you? He delights in you. The Bible says in Zephaniah 3 17, The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. He will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in his love. He will joy over thee with singing. God's heart towards you isn't reluctant. He doesn't tolerate you. He sings over you. When you believe that, strength begins to return. You see, I have lived my life thinking I had to muster it up. I've always lived my life thinking, well, if you lose everything else, at least you got the Lord. It's a joy in that. But that's not what the verse was teaching. That's what blew my mind. It said the joy of the Lord. I've read that all my life. Never paid attention. Never got it clear. Never had it down in my own heart what it said. I thought I was supposed to rejoice in him. But it's his joy. It's his joy. He loves us. He is over us with great love. He delights in us. He takes pleasure in us because he's a good God. It's not about me joying in him. It's about me realizing he's joying in me. And in the middle of my weeping, in the middle of my hurt, he's calling on me and saying, look, don't cry. Realize that no matter how much you broke my law, my grace is greater. The law makes the sin abound, but grace is even more strong. Joy is confidence in God's favor. See, we're going to believe not in a shallow happiness, but in a quiet confidence that God is for you. That's hard for me. That's hard for me to accept. That's hard for me to bring into my heart like I should. But the Bible says it, doesn't it? Romans chapter 8 and verse 31, if God be for us, who can be against us? If God be for us, who can be against us? You see, sorrow drains strength, and joy releases strength. When I'm sad, when I'm dealing with all the stuff that goes on in my own life, sometimes I let it suck the life out of me. You know what I mean? But when you realize that God loves you and joys over you, it gives us strength. This joy that the Lord has in us isn't rooted in our performance and how well we're doing things. It's rooted in grace. It's rooted in how much God loves us. And I know you're tired, and I know I know sometimes we struggle and work so hard to be so good for so long, and we still get cancer, and we still are sick and dying, and we're still in pain, and we still lose our loved ones, and we begin to think to ourselves, is it worthy? And then somebody comes along and sanctimoniously says, Well, joy in the Lord. And we ought to joy in the Lord. There's verses on that. I'll talk about those with you as we go along. But this one is the joy of the Lord. This is the joy of the Lord. You know, in effect, it's a joy you can't work up. You can only receive it. It's God's joy in us. It's God's joy in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It's kind of like what it says in John 15, 11 when it says, These things have I've spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, that your joy might be full. You see, Jesus speaks about joy and giving us joy. He gives us his joy, not our joy. Joy is the atmosphere of his presence. It's the atmosphere of his presence. The Bible says in Psalm 16, 11, in thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore. The more you rest in him, the more joy naturally flows. I'd like to be honest with you. I'm learning those lessons. I'm learning those lessons because sometimes I found my joy in people. I found my joy in my health. I found my joy in things around me. And I joyed, but I wasn't experiencing the joy of the Lord. I wasn't thinking. I'll be honest with you, it's pretty hard for me to admit He loves me. He joys in me. He, oh, it's hard for me to say even. I'm still learning it. He takes pleasure in me. That's what the Bible says. And so in Nehemiah chapter 8, they heard the law. They found out about how bad they had done. They found out how they'd messed everything up. But he said to them, Y'all go eat and drink and share gifts with each other. Because joy moves outward. Joy makes us generous. True joy looks for someone else to bless. The fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5.20, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy. It ought to be a natural fruit, a natural outgrowth of the Spirit in us. And you can't fake joy. You overflow with it, but you can't fake it. So Jesus had joy even when he suffered. Says in Hebrews 12, too, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. Even though he was suffering, he saw something bigger in us. The joy set before him was him restoring us to the Father, to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. His joy carried him through the cross, and it can carry us through anything. Joy doesn't mean I deny the pain, it just means I trust his love in the middle of it. And so when you stop trying to earn God's favor and start believing that he delights in you, you become strong. The joy of the Lord is your strength. That's not a slogan, it's a spiritual reality. Rested hearts are strong hearts. Loved people are courageous. So, my friend, if you have lost your joy, if you haven't lost God, He still rejoices over you. You don't have to fake it, you just have to receive it. So why don't you do what I do? I get up about every hour and I walk around outside to kind of keep moving because I work sitting most of the day. And I say, thank you for loving me. I say thank you for loving me. Thank you for singing over me. Even when I don't feel like singing, I ask him to fill me with his joy, let his joy be my strength because it's not an emotion, it's a relationship that we have with him. And he still loves you. He's still with you all the time. And I just want you to know I know you're tired, but trust Jesus.
