Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness…. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: “You are accepted.”

Paul Tillich (1886–1965), a German-American Protestant theologian, developed an “existential” theology attentive to anxiety, guilt, and estrangement in modern life. This line comes from his sermon “You Are Accepted,” in which he describes grace not as a reward for moral or religious achievement but as an unexpected event that meets people precisely when they feel most unworthy or spiritually exhausted. Preached in the mid-20th century and later published in his sermon collection, the passage reflects Tillich’s pastoral aim: to speak to those overwhelmed by inner conflict, failure, or despair, and to articulate a Christian understanding of acceptance that precedes self-improvement.

Tillich portrays grace as interruptive and unearned: it “strikes” when a person is in pain, restlessness, and darkness—states associated with existential anxiety and self-rejection. The “wave of light” and the inner “voice” dramatize a shift in self-understanding: one is accepted before becoming acceptable. The quote’s force lies in reversing the usual moral logic; acceptance is not the end point of religious striving but the beginning of transformation. For Tillich, this experience does not deny guilt or brokenness; it meets them, dissolving despair and enabling courage and renewal without grounding hope in one’s own performance.