#summer grace

By Summer Grace

God's Unconditional Love in Your Darkest Moments

Have you ever felt so broken that you wondered if God could still love someone like you?

There are moments in life when shame whispers so loudly that we can barely hear anything else. Maybe it's after a moral failure that disappointed everyone, including yourself. Perhaps it's during a season of depression when you feel like a burden to everyone around you. Or it could be in the aftermath of a decision that hurt people you love. In these dark moments, the enemy loves to convince us that we've crossed a line, gone too far, or become too damaged for God's love to reach us.

But here's the truth that shame doesn't want you to know: there is no depth of darkness that God's love cannot penetrate. Romans 8:38-39 declares with absolute certainty: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

King David understood this personally. After committing adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrating her husband's murder, David felt the crushing weight of his sin. In Psalm 51:1-2, he cried out, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." Notice he didn't appeal to his past good deeds or promise future perfection – he appealed to God's unfailing love and great compassion.

The woman caught in adultery experienced this love firsthand. Dragged before Jesus by religious leaders ready to stone her, she faced certain death under the law. But Jesus responded with grace that shocked everyone present. After her accusers left one by one, Jesus asked, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" When she replied that no one had condemned her, Jesus said, "Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:10-11). His love didn't excuse her sin, but it didn't define her by it either.

Peter discovered the depths of God's love after his greatest failure. Despite promising to die for Jesus, he denied knowing Him three times when the pressure mounted. The guilt must have been overwhelming – he had failed his Lord at the most crucial moment. But Jesus didn't write Peter off. After His resurrection, Jesus specifically asked the women at the tomb to "tell his disciples and Peter" that He had risen (Mark 16:7). That little phrase "and Peter" speaks volumes about God's heart for the broken and ashamed.

God's love isn't based on your performance – it's based on His character. You cannot make Him love you more by being good, and you cannot make Him love you less by being bad. His love is constant, unchanging, and unconditional. It's not a feeling that fluctuates with your behavior; it's a decision He made before you were born.

When you're in your darkest moments, remember that God doesn't love the perfect version of you that doesn't exist – He loves the real, messy, struggling, imperfect you that does exist. He sees all your flaws, knows all your failures, and loves you completely anyway. His love isn't naive or blind; it's informed and intentional.

You guys, go read this book. It is magical and twisting and thrilling. I’m not doing a readathon right now but I read this in a day despite having an eight hour work shift. I could not put it down. The characters are all so unique and compelling. The story is unpredictable but still feels nostalgic of movies like The Craft. I am so glad I chose this to open up the New Year. This is one of the few times where a main character is my favorite character but River was so complex and she evolved so well that I can’t help but love her and I can’t wait to see how she will turn out in the next book.