Pastor Dave Holland – Finding Grace in Life’s Lowest Moments

Life can change in an instant. One phone call, one betrayal, one painful season can leave everything you once depended on shattered. In those moments, many people wonder: “Where is God now?”

In this deeply honest and hope-filled conversation, John Martin sits down with Pastor Dave Holland to share a testimony of heartbreak, restoration, and discovering the overwhelming grace of God.

Dave opens up about growing up in East Los Angeles in a rough environment after his parents divorced when he was young. At sixteen years old, he encountered Jesus through a church youth group, beginning a lifelong journey of faith and ministry. God eventually called him into pastoral ministry, leading him across the country to plant churches and serve communities for over 25 years.

But even after years of ministry, Dave found himself walking through one of the darkest seasons of his life.

After decades of marriage, his wife unexpectedly left, and within months, Dave lost not only his marriage but also his ministry position, career, and home. Everything he had built seemed to collapse at once. He describes it as a season of devastating grief, confusion, and deep emotional pain.

Yet it was there—in the middle of brokenness—that Dave encountered the grace of God in a way he never had before.

He shares how God met him in his lowest moments, reminding him that no failure, sin, or heartbreak can separate us from His presence. Even when Dave wrestled with anger, shame, and temptation, God remained faithful. Through surrender and honesty before the Lord, healing slowly began to take place.

Dave’s message is simple but powerful:
Jesus is still enough.

Not religion.
Not performance.
Not perfection.
Just Jesus.

Throughout the conversation, Dave emphasizes that Christianity is not about pretending to have it all together. Churches are filled with imperfect people learning how to love God and love one another. Healing happens when we stop hiding, become honest about our struggles, and walk in authentic community.

He encourages believers to:
Stay grounded in God’s Word.
Get connected to a Bible-believing church.
Find accountability and community through small groups.
And most importantly—keep coming back to Jesus.

Dave also speaks directly to those carrying guilt, shame, addiction, or past mistakes, reminding them that they are never too far gone for God’s mercy. No matter how broken life may feel, God’s grace reaches deeper still.

Your failures do not define you.
Your pain is not the end of your story.
And God’s love is bigger than your worst mistake.

What’s one area of your life where you need to stop hiding and invite Jesus into the healing process today?

Contact Pastor Dave Holland:
📧 davidvholland54@gmail.com

For more information contact us at
rtrdestiny@gmail.com

Transcript

Welcome And Why This Story Matters

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, hey friends. It's John Martin. Sad to be back with you here on Road to Redemption. And I'm with today my friend Pastor Dave Holland. Davey, how are you? I'm great. Glad to be here. Good to see you. I know I've I've known about you, I've seen you around, but that we just got to meet in person recently.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Right.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Um, that was great. I really appreciated that you wanted to meet me in person for coffee versus the world we're in today. Everybody's just like, you know, hey, let's email and text and so impersonal. Yeah, I know. So I I really I encourage people to do that all the time, and you did it. So I was really, really happy about that. We got to know each other a little bit, and thank you for being willing to come on the show. Um, share a little bit about your story, get give us a little background on you and how you got to know Jesus and how you got here today.

Growing Up In East LA

Called To Ministry Far From Home

Divorce, Loss, And Finding Grace

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Thank you, John, for having me on the program today. It's a privilege, and uh the program has such a great reputation. But you asked about my background. I came from Los Angeles and grew up in East LA in a very rough neighborhood, gangland type area. Uh, my parents had divorced when I was five, and so it was pretty rough growing up. Um and then when I was 16, I got invited to a church youth group and ended up going and accepting the Lord as my savior. And ego-driven teenage boy that I was, I thought, gee, God, you really got a good one this time. And um, it took the Lord a while to uh humble me some, and uh he found a way to do that, ultimately called me to the ministry and to Bible college. And in Bible college, I felt this drawing to the East. So when I graduated from there, I went to New England, where I pastored churches for 25 years, planting churches primarily, where there were no spirit-filled churches. It was a very liberal area, very Catholic area, whom I came to love. Even love liberals, you know. They you know they have reasons why they believe what they believe in and so on, but I I've found that Jesus applies to everyone. Yes, and Jesus is available to everyone. Um after pastoring there in Massachusetts for 25 years, my ex-wife now ultimately just left, disappeared one day, and she had reconnected with an old friend from high school that she married the week after our divorce. And so that was probably the lowest time in my life. It was devastating. I I remember when I got the news, I was driving back from having taught a class in Boston and had to pull a car over by the side of the road and just threw up everything. It was just horrific. My whole life came crashing down. My not just my wife left, but then the church I pastored in that denomination, you automatically have to step down from the ministry. So I lost my wife, my career, and ultimately my house within a couple of months. And it was devastating. And that's when I discovered the grace of God. And I'm so glad, not glad that I got divorced, but glad that God revealed himself in such a wonderful way. There's no depth you cannot that that you can go to and be far from the presence of God. And um, he doesn't leave us or forsake us even when we're at our lowest of the low. So I remarried a couple years later and went back into pastoring in Nebraska and Colorado, and then retired here in beautiful Florida, my paradise, my wife's paradise, and absolutely love it here. Um so I found through thick and thin, God is good, and He goes through this journey of life with us. I remember once after my ex-wife had left sitting at the computer, supposedly trying to apply for new jobs, and I sitting at the keyboard, I'm thinking, you know, I could go anywhere I want on this computer now. Not marry, not pastor in church, I could go to all those sites you're not supposed to go to. I said, what difference would it make? And the Lord spoke to my heart at that moment and said that what will you become if you do that, if you go to those places, if you sink to that depth, what will you become? And then I knew I couldn't do that to the Lord, I couldn't do that to myself, to my children. You know, there are there are ugly things in the internet and there are ugly places we can go if we choose to walk away from the Lord. But even at that low moment, he was saying, speaking to me about that he was with me there.

Temptation After Trauma And A Warning

SPEAKER_00 6:05

I'm just so grateful to Deja. Yeah. Well, and I think you know, we do have a lot of people we're reaching, the lost, uh, with this show that that have made those mistakes, you know, they have gotten into sexual sin and pornography or drugs or you know, gambling somewhat we're we're all fallen. We're all sinners. Right, we are. Um it was a blessing. You didn't go down that road, but what what do you say to people out there today that just feel like they're too far gone? You know, they're they probably believe there's a God, but they just feel a lot of guilt and condemnation. What do you say to them?

What To Say When Shame Wins

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Uh I can tell you, John, I've been to sinful places. I I've fallen, I've done things I wish I had never done. And what I discovered is the Lord never abandoned me. Um when I got divorced, emotionally, I thought I had failed God. I'd failed my ex-wife for sure. I had failed my family, that the most important relationships in this life. And but worse, is what happened to me was uh when I would go to church during the worship, I would start weeping. I mean, it's like uncontrollable, embarrassing weeping. You know, like the other people in the church that are kind of looking at me askance and they're saying, like, what's wrong with him? You know, is he having some kind of breakdown or something? It was it was horrible. And I I walk I remember in Texas attending this church, and the same thing happened. I I walked out because I just couldn't, I didn't want to be a disturbance, and I said, God, what what is this? And he said, You blame me. You think you did it all right, but you blame me, and you're angry at me, and I just had to say, God, forgive me. I I'm sorry, I I you know I failed you, and the Lord just wrapped his arms of grace around me. So what I discovered, John, to answer your question, is that if you merely submit to the the love of God, if you merely give in and say, God, I've messed up, help me, He is He is there like that in the whisper, in the moment, He is there for us. And there's the David said in Psalm 139 that even if you go to the depths of the sea, the deepest part, you still can't escape God. You may not feel him, you may not hear him right now, you may not want to go to church. That's okay. If you just say yes to God, he will be there for you.

A Jesus Centered Devotional In Luke

SPEAKER_00 9:13

Amen. Wow. Well, and you yeah, you went through a lot because I know you shared me before being a pastor going through a divorce is a very hard thing to overcome in your mind, you know. Yeah. You just feel like, and and and so I know that was hard for you. Uh you got remarried. Um you're uh bright, you're an author. I've been very blessed to read your book, at least I'm partially through it, but this is a really good book. Um Resurrection, Jesus, Encountering the Cross, the empty tomb in the living Lord. What is your your message or what you're trying to say to people with this book?

SPEAKER_01 10:02

So this book is a daily devotional going through the Gospel of Luke, chapters 22 through 24, the end of Jesus' life. But the heartbeat behind this book and my other books is always to answer the question: who is Jesus? What did he do? What did he say? What does that mean for us? And in these last three chapters of Luke, when Jesus is experiencing his trial and his crucifixion and then buried three days, and then rising up victorious over the grave. Well, we kind of all heard the Easter story, but just going verse by verse through these passages without any denominational filters or theology, it's just who is Jesus? Too much of church in Christianity today is about things other than Jesus, and he is the center of Christianity, he's the core, he's the head, he's he's everything, whatever kind of church you go to or don't go to. Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords and alive, yes, and wants to live with us and live in our heart. And it Jesus is amazing. So that this book has gotten places I never dreamed. It would have gone, been in jails and in prisons and uh to mansions and beautiful beach houses and all kinds of different places that I hear back from.

Bible, Church, And Small Group Habits

SPEAKER_00 11:44

It's a simple truth. Right. Jesus is, and it's a lot of you know, in our churches and stuff, we get it gets into too much theology and religion and performance works and things. Uh and that's what you know we're we're doing with this show is just to invite you in to know Jesus, get to know him personally. Uh, and you know, we we we encourage you to um get into the word of God, to read the Bible every day, uh spend time with God. He he wants our time, and he primarily speaks to us through his word, through the Bible. Uh and then to get into a Christ-centered, Bible-believing church. We're not meant to do this alone. Right. Um, you know, yes, most churches have online and can be great, but really you need to get in the church in person and go. Uh, you'll never find the perfect church. We're all fallen. But just go. Go to a good Bible teaching Christ hitter church. And then when you get in that church, get into a small group. You know, everybody in the church, you see them, everybody's everybody's great. You go to church, great, everything's great. No, it's not great. We're all walking through stuff, and the way we get through that is through a small group of men or women or couples that we're in our season of life that we can make ourselves vulnerable. And you know, God will really, really provide great healing therapy, freedom through those small groups.

Loving Imperfect People And Being Unoffendable

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Um, but what what um Dave, what else has the Lord put on your heart to share today with our just tagging on to what you had just said about being in a church or a small group and uh being with other people, I think of church like a laboratory, it is where you get tested and tried. It's not supposed to be the perfect place, and you're not gonna encounter perfect people there, they're gonna be imperfect, and they're you're gonna discover either you're gonna love them or not. And Jesus said, if you know me, you'll love one another. And so there's a lot of unlovely people, there's a lot of people that are difficult in the world and in the church, but Jesus has given us this commandment to love God and to love one another. And if we are not loving toward people, we need to do a heart check. Um, churches were never expected to be perfect, they were never expected to be this place where angelic humans gather, you know, it just never has been that, never will be that until Jesus comes and perfects us. Uh so I I really affirm what you were just saying. Try out your face. Yeah, you know, in small groups, wrestle with the other people in the group. And uh the other day I was in a small group and the the leader got mad and walked out of the group. And I wanted to say, hey, you're the leader, you can't walk out.

SPEAKER_00 15:27

Yeah, oh because this is the challenge, is we see this even in the church in small groups, is everyone has become so easily offended. Right. It's a it it's it's a fence. It is and something that I've been saying to myself a lot is we need to our goal needs to be that we become unoffendable. Right. Unoffendable.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Right.

SPEAKER_00 15:52

You know, um, and that we're all fallen and we you know we keep we keep going back to to Jesus, the written risen Christ, and you know, all of our churches, our small groups, we're fallen, but we we we we need just to make sure that we stick to this Bible and what it says.

unknown 16:15

Right.

The Simple Jesus Who Changes Lives

SPEAKER_00 16:16

You know, if we follow this and we we do it in community, God will bless us. And we just want to encourage you today, folks, that wherever you are, Jesus wants to meet you. He's here now. You don't have to even wait to go to church or to the small group right now. You can just fall on your knees and say, Lord, I need you. I'm in need of a savior. Amen. Um I'm a sinner. Um I've fallen short. And just ask our Lord to forgive you and just cry out to him and spend time with him. He wants your time, and and he will he'll save you, he'll he'll give you freedom. It's and you you can do that right now, and we we just we'll we'll pray before we go. Um but Dave, you're your your um your testimony is so great, and you know, I know we could go on and on. You've um you know, you're you've been to a great theological seminary, you've written several books, you've done a lot. Um if there's anything, is there any last word, if there's one thing you had to say to our folks listening, what would that be?

SPEAKER_01 17:42

I would say it's the simple Jesus that will change your life. Um, we tend to equate Christianity with the church. And and there's some true things there, but Jesus and and God the Father are far greater than that. His grace is bigger than the rules we put ourselves under. That that he could love every person on this planet. He loves you right now where you're at. And he is big enough, great enough, good enough to do all of that because he's God, and he has chosen humanity. I used to say all the time, God's only problem is he chose to work with people, and it was his choice. Um, I don't know why, but he did it, and he wants to live and abide with us.

Prayer For Listeners And Farewell

SPEAKER_00 18:58

Oh, that's awesome. Well, let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we love you. Yes, we thank you for this opportunity to come together. Thank you for Pastor Dave making himself vulnerable and sharing his story. And and Father, we just we pray for anyone listening now, um maybe doesn't know you or is just maybe maybe falling away and and and and really is in need. Father, we pray for these folks listening that right now you would meet them where they are, you would just speak to them that they will turn to you and and and you will forgive their sins and you will provide them with eternal life and and and true freedom here on earth through a personal relationship with you. So we just pray right now that many, many people are being touched by you. They they feel your Holy Spirit right now, and we're thankful for that, Lord. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

unknown 20:15

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 20:16

Wow, that's great. Thank you so much, Dave. Thank you, John.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

I appreciate you having me today. Thank you. God bless you every month.