You know, we all deal with problems, and we all deal with who we are- messes and all. No matter how bad you think you are, you are not a lost cause. You may have issues in your thinking, feelings, actions, and reactions. You may struggle with weaknesses, sins, failures, and inabilities. Regardless, you have to remember that when we were all sinners and didn’t know God, Jesus died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6-11).

He that did not hesitate to spare his own Son but gave him up for us all—can we not trust such a God to give us, with him, everything else that we can need? Romans 8:32 (JB Phillips New Testament, PHILLIPS)

Now that we’re born again (and if you’re not, you can be), we can rest assured that God won’t hold back on giving us what we need to grow and mature in Him. Don’t get down on yourself or be so hard on yourself when you mess up or when you’ve been through some bad stuff- even for a long time. God can and will change you, so don’t give up on yourself. God loves you, so receive that love, and let His love change you.

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. II Corithians 3:17-18 (New Living Translation, NLT)

God changes us little by little. one thought, one attitude, one decision at a time. We give ourselves over to His will, spirit, soul and body, As He works on each part. He shapes and molds us as a potter forms clay into a beautfiul vessel of glory. Remember, your spirit is saved by being born-again. Your soul is being saved and changed by the renewing of your mind to the Word of God (Romans 12:2). Your body is quickened, or given life, day by day by the Spirit of God in you (Romans 8:11), and it will one day be changed. Know that He who began a good work in you is faithful to complete it right up until the day Jesus comes for the church. And what has not been perfected in this lifetime will be done at the rapture.

I’m fully convinced that the One who began this glorious work in you will faithfully continue the process of maturing you and will put his finishing touches to it until the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 (The Passion Translation, TPT)

Just like a lump of clay that’s being shaped and formed into something useful and beautiful, we must stay patient and let our Heavenly Father finish the work He has begun in us. The key is to focus on how far we’ve already come, and, by all means, stay on the potter’s wheel.