Pain and Stuggles That We all Have

Does anybody have pain in their lives right now?  Does anyone have sin that they struggle with?  My hand is definitely raised up high in the air.  What are the answers to the pains of the world?  What is the answer to your pain and my pain?  What is the answer to your sin and my sin?  What about that word sin, what does it mean?  Sin means that "we miss the mark".  That simple.  "Missing the mark" expresses itself in different ways in a person's life, depending on that individual.  What is the answer?  Well, Jesus is the answer.  Why is Jesus the answer?  The question at the core of every human being who struggles with sin is "Does God still accept me like this?".  This is the million dollar question.  Drug addicts, prostitutes, gay, lesbian, transgender, child molesters, rapist, exotic dancer, murderers, alcoholics, etc.  At their core they are wondering "Does God accept me like this?"
Many have told them that God will not accept them.  Many have told them that God rejects them.  May have gone so far as to tell people that they couldn't possibly be Christian if they are struggling with any of the above things mentioned.  This opinion of God is simply not based on the bible.  I didn't want to blog tonite so I'll keep it short.  None of us really know or completely understand the struggles of another, but as a human being, I understand that the struggle is real.  I understand that the pain is real.  You can't talk it away or pray it away.  I have gone through many struggles with identity in my lifetime. When I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, I experienced the joy of forgiveness and knowing that I could have a relationship with God and that He accepted me.  However, about 2 years after that I feel into depression, anxiety, etc. God eventually brought me out of that but it was only through much prayer, for a couple years, and God let me know I needed to change my diet and start going back to the gym.  That worked!!  But then I got married and had kids,  I went through probably the first 3 to 4 years of motherhood struggling, trying to figure myself out as a wife and mom.  It was hard, because for about 3 years I didn't even feel like my relationship with God was really that vibrant anymore. I stopped praying because I was tired of hearing "quiet" on the other end.  That's where God had me for about 4 years.  In a "quiet" place.  He would show me certain things I needed to do in my life and then it would be just my practicing what he had shown me for years on end.   There are certain areas of my life that He wanted me to become real sensitive to,
in terms of the way I functioned and how it affected me. But I didn't feel like I was really growing for years.  But I was.  See sometimes it doesn't feel like we are growing or changing, but we really are.  Sometimes it doesn't feel like God is delivering us from our current struggle, but He is.  I've waited many years to see the growth and changes that were taking place in me when I didn't even know it.  I have learned that you should wait to see your change, don't feel like you just have to accept something, if you know it's not God's will.  But know that God accepts you just the way you are but He also wants to renew your mind.  Even when you are not accepting something in your life, that doesn't mean that you're done with it.  Even when you don't accept a lie, you can still be in the midst of living the lie out in your life.  That's because change doesn't happen overnight.  It happens over years of an intimate loving relationship between you and your heavenly Father.  Don't try to change yourself, you cannot change yourself. True change is the work of the Holy Spirit and you will eventually become the change that the Holy Spirit is working in you if you cooperate with Him.