Podcast Summary: In Totality with Megan Ashley
Episode 95 – Sanctification Isn’t Instant: Trusting God’s Pace and Process
Release Date: November 4, 2025
Overview
In this deep and personal solo episode, Megan Ashley explores the often misunderstood and challenging journey of sanctification in the Christian life. Speaking with honesty and vulnerability, Megan unpacks why sanctification is not a quick or painless process, but rather a lifelong, Spirit-empowered transformation. She reassures listeners frustrated by slow progress or spiritual struggle, offering scriptural wisdom, encouragement, and practical guidance for trusting God’s unique pace and process.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Addressing End Times Anxiety & Rapture Confusion (03:10 - 06:00)
- Megan briefly comments on recent viral predictions about the rapture that caused confusion and fear among believers.
- Quote [04:12]: “No one knows the day nor the hour that he is returning. Scripture says not even the Son knows.” — Megan Ashley
- Encourages listeners to turn to scripture for reassurance and not be swayed by sensationalist voices or social media trends.
- Quote [05:42]: “Go read your word. Go know the word for yourself, okay? Don’t be tossed by every word of every man. I want you to be anchored in the word of the Lord.”
2. Personal Struggle with Sanctification (06:10 - 10:40)
- Megan opens up about wrestling with the “pace, process, and pain” of sanctification.
- Stresses the importance of searching Scriptures personally, rather than depending solely on others’ interpretations.
- Quote [09:41]: “I just want to be able to be a voice that gives language to some of the things maybe that your heart has been feeling… and point you back to intimacy with Him.”
3. Mountaintops, Valleys, and the Reality of Spiritual Life (10:45 - 13:30)
- Outlines the waves of consolation (spiritual high) and desolation (dry seasons), grounded in Christian maturity. Both are normal in the journey.
- The “tension with sanctification” becomes clear as believers move between these experiences.
4. Justification, Sanctification, Glorification – Unpacking the Differences (13:40 - 20:10)
- Justification: Instant, legal declaration by God; we are made righteous through faith. Referenced Romans 8.
- Glorification: Final perfection, no more struggle with sin, to come at Christ’s return.
- Sanctification: The challenging, ongoing, Spirit-led process “in the middle.”
- Quote [18:22]: “We want to go from justification to glorification, but we are forgetting that sanctification is the thing in the middle—the ongoing process that we live in on this earth.”
5. Why Sanctification is Frustrating – The Pain & Pace (20:30 - 31:10)
- Admits wishing sanctification was immediate; calls out the struggle with God’s slow pace.
- Explains (via scriptural references like 2 Corinthians 3:18 and 4:16) that sanctification is:
- Cooperative (we participate, but the Spirit empowers)
- Ongoing (“being transformed”, not “already transformed”)
- Uses analogy of manna falling daily for the Israelites (Exodus) – God’s provision comes daily to produce dependence.
- Quote [27:31]: “Why, Lord, are you sanctifying me every day? Because He is after His glory.”
6. The Danger of Moralism vs. True Sanctification (31:15 - 36:30)
- Warns against “moralism”: believing righteousness comes from good behavior rather than by grace through faith.
- Quote [34:17]: “Moralism is believing the lie that salvation is achieved through good moral behavior and not by the grace of God.”
- Illustrates with the “older brother” mentality; urges listeners to yield to the Spirit, not just “do the right things” without heart change.
7. Struggling with God’s Pace – Running the Long Race (36:32 - 44:40)
- Draws out the analogy of the Christian life as a marathon, not a sprint.
- Quote [37:39]: “I in my mind think that sanctification is a hundred-meter dash when really it’s more like a 10k but forever.”
- Cites Paul’s struggle in Romans 7 as a comfort—our wrestling is normal, not evidence of spiritual failure.
- Encourages listeners to “run at the pace God has for you,” not to compare with others or rush.
- Scripture Highlight: Hebrews 12:1-2—run with endurance, lay aside hindrances, keep your eyes on Jesus.
8. The Crockpot Analogy – Slow-Cooked Growth (44:41 - 46:55)
- Playful and memorable illustration: sanctification is a “crockpot,” not a microwave—slow, deep, thorough.
- Quote [45:23]: “The Lord is slow cooking in our lives. It's not this microwaved sanctification that I know that we desire.”
9. Milk to Meat: The Pace of Maturity (47:00 - 49:00)
- Drawing on Hebrews 5, Megan shows how growth involves moving from “milk” (spiritual basics) to “meat” (deeper, slower-to-digest truth).
- Quote [48:30]: “You want more meat, but you haven’t even chewed and digested what I gave you four weeks ago. Chew on that.”
10. Pain is Not Wasted – The Purpose of Struggle (49:05 - 51:30)
- Acknowledges the pain and discouragement that comes with sanctification’s pace and process.
- Assures listeners that pain yields growth and deeper dependence on God, not just suffering for its own sake.
11. Guarding Against Faithful Fatigue & Enduring Well (51:35 - 53:55)
- Warns against “faithful fatigue” (weariness from the long journey).
- Recommends rest, intimate fellowship, Bible-saturated community, and healthy spiritual friendships as supports for endurance.
- Quote [53:19]: “You are being transformed, you are being renewed, and you are being sanctified… this is a forever journey on this earth.”
12. Final Encouragement & Exhortation (53:56 - 54:10)
- Justification frees us, sanctification forms us, glorification awaits us.
- Quote [54:00]: “Justification frees us, sanctification forms us, and glorification awaits us.”
- Listeners are invited to journal about their frustrations, confusions, and pains with sanctification, and to bring these before God in prayer and meditation on His Word.
Notable Quotes & Moments
- “I am irritated with sanctification.” (03:20, recurring theme)
- “You do the work because the work is evidence of what has been done in your heart.” (34:00)
- “Don’t look to the left, don’t look to the right. Keep your eyes fixed on Him.” (43:43)
- “Sanctification is the evidence that salvation and regeneration has happened in your heart.” (51:08)
- “He is the founder and the perfecter of our faith, and He will finish what He started.” (53:45)
Key Timestamps
- 03:10 – Addressing rapture rumors, anchoring oneself in Scripture
- 13:40 – Distinguishing justification, sanctification, glorification
- 20:30 – The spiritual frustration of slow transformation
- 27:31 – God’s daily work and provision, drawn from manna metaphor
- 34:00 – Danger of moralism and pride in works
- 37:39 – The marathon (not sprint) of sanctification
- 44:41 – The “slow cook” crockpot analogy
- 48:30 – Moving from “milk” to “meat”
- 53:19 – Guarding against faithful fatigue, need for endurance
Conclusion
Megan’s episode is a heartfelt, scripture-saturated invitation to honesty in the Christian journey. She reassures believers who feel stuck, discouraged, or impatient that sanctification is slow, uneven, and often painful—but always purposeful, always powered by the Spirit, and always ends in God’s glory and our ultimate good. Through metaphors both playful and profound, and with plenty of practical advice, she urges listeners to trust God’s pace, participate with openness and humility, and to anchor themselves in community and His Word.
For further reflection:
- Journal about where you feel frustrated, confused, or pained in your sanctification process.
- Engage deeply with Romans 5-8, 1-2 Corinthians, and Hebrews 5-12 as Megan suggests.
- Fix your eyes on Jesus—the founder and the perfecter of your faith.