God's Radical Grace When We're At Our Worst

Most of us can recognize harmful behavior in others pretty quickly.  We can easily diagnose what everyone else should do to become a better version of themselves.

But when it comes to the same sort of analysis of ourselves, we often balk at telling ourselves the truth about who we are and what we need to change to live more fully.  

I remember when I was a young man, I took the first opportunity I  had to move out of my parents' house as soon as I was old enough to do so.  I spent several years doing everything I could to put my sheltered life behind me.  

I developed some bad habits during those years, many of which followed me for quite some time.  And as I got older, I realized that there were a lot of things I  needed to change, but I didn't want to because I not-so-secretly still got a lot of enjoyment (albeit short-lived) out of the way I was living. 

I could see the faults of others very clearly, but I refused to see where I was harming myself and inhibiting my own growth, mostly out of stubbornness and a defiant sense of "No one gets to tell me what to do!" 

Nadia Bolz-Weber once wrote: 

“Getting sober never felt like I had pulled myself up by my own spiritual bootstraps. It felt instead like I was on one path toward destruction and God pulled me off of it by the scruff of my collar, me hopelessly kicking and flailing and saying, 'Screw you. I’ll take the destruction please.' God looked at tiny, little red-faced me and said, 'that’s adorable,' and then plunked me down on an entirely different path.”

Her words shine a spotlight on the radical, often unsettling nature of God’s grace. Grace is not a reward for our progress, nor is it contingent on our willingness to change. 

Grace meets us at our absolute worst—when we are clinging to destructive choices, when our fists are clenched, and when our lips mutter, “Leave me alone.” It is in those moments that God’s love intervenes, not with scolding, but with a fierce determination to rescue us.

The apostle Paul knew this firsthand. He wrote, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Grace doesn’t wait for our best behavior. It moves toward us in the middle of our rebellion. Like Jonah running from Nineveh, or Peter denying Jesus three times, or the prodigal son wasting everything in a far-off land, God’s love refuses to give up.

Think of Psalm 40:2: “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” We may be kicking and flailing, resisting every step of the way, but still, God plunks us down on a new path. Grace is not polite or passive—it is relentless, pursuing us even when we don’t want to be found.

The truth is, many of us resist God’s grace because we fear what it might require. We know deep down there are things that need to change—habits, attitudes, ways of living—but change feels terrifying. Yet God’s grace does not shame us into transformation. It draws us into freedom with love more powerful than our resistance.

So stop resisting. Let God’s grace carry you, even if your hands are trembling and your heart is afraid. Trust that the One who knows you best and loves you most will not drag you somewhere you do not belong, but will lead you into life, wholeness, and joy.

Prayer:
God of relentless grace, thank You for loving me even at my worst. Thank You for pulling me off paths that lead to destruction, even when I resisted. Help me to trust Your love more than my fears, and to surrender to the new life You are creating in me. Amen.

Reflection & Discussion Guide (a new addition to the Devo!)

1. When have you experienced God’s grace interrupting your life, even when you weren’t ready or willing to change?

2. What are some ways you find yourself resisting God’s grace today, and what fears might be behind that resistance?

3. What is one area of your life where you sense God inviting you to let go and trust God's love more fully?