Ashley Morgan Jackson is a wife, mom, social media coordinator for Proverbs 31 Ministries, and author of the brand new book, “Tired of Trying: . She comes on the show today to share with us on the concept of wrestling with God in the hard times and all that He can bring from the wrestle.
What We Chat about in Today’s Episode:
~Ashley’s new book, “Tired of Trying: ., what led her to write it, and what readers can expect
~When you get to the point of having tried everything that you can think of with nothing working; the concept of then wrestling with God and holding on to Him throughout that entire process
~Learning so much more about the Lord and growing in our relationship with Him through the hard times
~How our wrestle and struggle becomes our ministry to others
~God as the One sure foundation when we have nothing else to hold on to
~Understanding that there are some lessons we can only learn in and through the wrestle with God – and why it is so harmful to believe that it is wrong to wrestle with God
~How the wrestle shows how God is the One holding on to us every step of the way
~Grace and love as what you need to save you as well as what you need to change you; the motivator that grace and love are
~Trusting God and waiting on Him in the hard seasons; what Ashley has learned about this and how she has been able to come to the point of believing that God only does things well and with great love – even when it doesn’t look or feel like it
~How shame pushes us away from God rather than being something that can change us positively
~How well Jesus understands the pain of a “no”
~Letting God love you in the midst of pain, rather than pushing Him away
~God’s tender, caring heart towards the brokenhearted
~Understanding that true intimacy and performance cannot co-exist and what this means for our walk with the Lord and our relationship with Him
~The important difference between relationship and religion
~Understanding that what we think leads to our actions and what we do leads to patterns of behavior; the importance of taking thoughts captive; how to do that
~How my and Ashley’s lives have been changed through our taking thoughts captive
~The importance of being faithful in even just the smallest of ways, bit by bit
~And more!
Resources Mentioned
INSPIRING QUOTES TO REMEMBER:
“God allows things into our lives that we do not want, but it is through those things that we learn more about God and what it looks like to wrestle. It’s through these stories and experiences that we are then able to help and encourage others who are going through something similar.”
“Sometimes the only thing we have to hold on to that is sure is God, and He is more than enough.”
“I had to let go of my performance. When you grow up in that legalistic way, you have to learn to let go. What we see in Jacob’s story of wrestling with God, is that when he was struggling, he needed to understanding that he needed to face God head-on and admit what he is struggling with. God was showing Jacob that he needed Him and needed to hold on to Him. But, even more than that, that it is really God holding on to us.”
“I didn’t just need grace to save me. I also needed grace to change me. We are not shamed into change. That transformation He brings really comes in the refiner’s fire, in dying to ourselves, in the pruning, in the wrestle. This is what it means to be a Christian. Not one of us escapes this.”
“‘Taking’ thoughts captive is an action, not something that is passive. It is something we actually have to do. And it is a life-long process, but we do grow stronger as we do it more and more.”
“Jesus got a ‘no’ from the Father in the garden, too. He knows what it’s like. He understands the anguish. And He is with us in it.”
“Sometimes the hardest part is letting God love us while we are in a painful season. We would often rather push Him away because we aren’t getting what we want. But we need to lean in and let Him love us through it.”
“Even if we could never do one thing for Him, the Lord would still love and want us. Simply because we are His child. That is something we have to not only love but also believe for ourselves. This love is what makes grace so amazing.”
“In our culture, we are conditioned to want the bigger, the flashier. But God is concerned with our faithfulness in the smallest of things – the doing the dishes, the speaking kindly to our spouse. Massive changes come first through very small, daily acts of obedience, of our doing what is right in front of us to do.”
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ASHLEY ONLINE:
Website – Ashley Morgan Jackson
Instagram – @ashley.morgan.jackson
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