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Meek as a Mustang: Find the Strength to Surrender Your Wild Heart to Jesus
In his debut book, viral content creator Ryan Miller brings a mix of nuanced insight and sledgehammer biblical truth as he reveals the lost Christian virtue that will radically change your life and how you follow Jesus.
Meekness. It’s a word that we think of as timid, quiet, or weak―someone who shies away from battle. But we have it all wrong. Meekness is like the wild mustang―powerful and strong, capable of striking fear into its challengers, but made gentle by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a character quality that exhibits strength under control and is submitted to the will of Jesus. And it’s essential in discovering your own God-given purpose.
In Meek as a Mustang, Ryan Miller turns a concept you thought you knew upside down and shows how the world is starving for a countercultural, biblical message. A life marked by meekness
risk-taking, bold, adventurous, and all-in enough to answer the call of discipleshipfully trusting in God as leader, ready to be in tune with even the slightest nudge of the reinsa redemption story, as Jesus tames the wild mustang into the warhorse and molds the seemingly irredeemable into someone purposeful for his kingdom
If you want to find rest for your restless soul, and transformational purpose for the ways God created you, you’ll find it right where Jesus promises his heart of meekness.
Meekness. It’s a word that we think of as timid, quiet, or weak―someone who shies away from battle. But we have it all wrong. Meekness is like the wild mustang―powerful and strong, capable of striking fear into its challengers, but made gentle by the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a character quality that exhibits strength under control and is submitted to the will of Jesus. And it’s essential in discovering your own God-given purpose.
In Meek as a Mustang, Ryan Miller turns a concept you thought you knew upside down and shows how the world is starving for a countercultural, biblical message. A life marked by meekness
risk-taking, bold, adventurous, and all-in enough to answer the call of discipleshipfully trusting in God as leader, ready to be in tune with even the slightest nudge of the reinsa redemption story, as Jesus tames the wild mustang into the warhorse and molds the seemingly irredeemable into someone purposeful for his kingdom
If you want to find rest for your restless soul, and transformational purpose for the ways God created you, you’ll find it right where Jesus promises his heart of meekness.
224 pages, Paperback
Published October 20, 2026
About the author
Ryan Miller
107 books8 followersThere is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 31, 2026
I have been struggling to understand meekness and I feel like this book put it so beautifully ❤️
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
TL:DR 5/5 ⭐, I don't follow Ryan and think you should absolutely read this book!
I had no idea Ryan Miller was the online influencer I've seen who consistently points hearts back to Scripture and Jesus. I jumped into reading Meek as a Mustang with little props knowledge of him, but the tears began to flow by page two. You mean he's not perfect? That he was a mess up like me? That there's hope for broken people like us? Like Ryan, I was a wild, strong-willed child desperate for love and affection. I had to be right and let everyone know exactly how and why they were wrong- which, surprise!- people don't like. I'm big, and after drama and choir, am loud. No one would ever describe me as meek.
But Jesus calls us to be meek and He called me into His family. So how in the world do I go from social pariah to humble, strong servant? Ryan fully answers this question in Meek As A Mustang, addressing real life, wildly important topics and situations, applying biblical truth to each, then challenging readers with a "Meek Moment" in his chapters.
Connecting gospel truths to a practical missionary approach, Ryan and Katie Blackburn lead readers through how to love broken people (and mustangs) into friendship. Mustangs and people have "to learn to slow down, control (their) default reaction to run, and be still enough" before they can connect with other people, let alone Christ. Joining with God is "the safest relationship you'll ever know". I couldn't agree more as someone who has lost so many loved ones, a job, a baby, and hope- Jesus is the *only* hope and safety on Earth. No other religion withstands the scrutiny, no other comfort lasts, no one else can save you before death beacons.
I resonated with Ryan's attempt to be smarter, stronger than others, using them before he could get hurt. "As I whole, I had made it my mission to become someone who nobody could take advantage of anymore by being smarter, savvier, and stronger." SAME, Ryan, same 💔 Didn't work for me either. Turns out there will always be someone smart and stronger than you. That those characteristics were never the end-all, be-all creating joy or fullness in life. Only pursuing Jesus can do that.
De-escalation. Boy, I should read that chapter again. I certainly need to apply it- default to it instead of planning my own versions of self-defense- in every aspect of life. Way to call me out on page 50, Ryan. Ouch. My anxiety-driven self preserving justification cannot be described as meek, but there's no reason it can't be both. Heck, both is probably the best self preservation I could apply ... Look at that, sanctification happening in real time! My pastor will be sooo grateful to you 😄
Caleb's wisdom when he said 'I don't want to name this horse based on who he is right now but who he is going to be' oh man, dagger to the heart. Reminds me of the old adage that satan calls us by our sin, but God calls us by name. Beautiful!
The stories of Landon, Caleb, Dawson, and Lucas and their mustangs made me crave more information! How did it go? Where are they now? I love the testimony and reminder of the limitless power of the Holy Spirit! Tension builds as readers hear of Ryan's struggle with pride in the beginning of his influencer journey - does he get a handle on it? Does he still struggle with that sin? We know where he is physically, today- how did he achieve that kind of "success"? The section explaining Moses from a historic perspective with modern examples was very enlightening. Reid's vision and Connor's call were heartbreaking and gutting- Ryan's response? Shocking! Reading a man invested a million dollars into Ryan- what?! A peek into Annie's story? 😭💔 The power in Carole and Jacob's story! And Dylan! Oh, Dylan. I wish I could buy him lunch and just listen as he shared whatever he learned that day!
Final take aways: Life is hard. Being hard doesn't make it easier. Christians need REAL community that will show up, listen with open hearts, pray fervently, and address sin in love. We need to be those kinds of siblings AND humbly take confrontations seriously if we want to glorify God well and grow in our sanctification. The fastest and best way to do that is by being in Scripture, prayer, and letting the Holy Spirit guide you.
Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers and NetGalley for this ARC!
I had no idea Ryan Miller was the online influencer I've seen who consistently points hearts back to Scripture and Jesus. I jumped into reading Meek as a Mustang with little props knowledge of him, but the tears began to flow by page two. You mean he's not perfect? That he was a mess up like me? That there's hope for broken people like us? Like Ryan, I was a wild, strong-willed child desperate for love and affection. I had to be right and let everyone know exactly how and why they were wrong- which, surprise!- people don't like. I'm big, and after drama and choir, am loud. No one would ever describe me as meek.
But Jesus calls us to be meek and He called me into His family. So how in the world do I go from social pariah to humble, strong servant? Ryan fully answers this question in Meek As A Mustang, addressing real life, wildly important topics and situations, applying biblical truth to each, then challenging readers with a "Meek Moment" in his chapters.
Connecting gospel truths to a practical missionary approach, Ryan and Katie Blackburn lead readers through how to love broken people (and mustangs) into friendship. Mustangs and people have "to learn to slow down, control (their) default reaction to run, and be still enough" before they can connect with other people, let alone Christ. Joining with God is "the safest relationship you'll ever know". I couldn't agree more as someone who has lost so many loved ones, a job, a baby, and hope- Jesus is the *only* hope and safety on Earth. No other religion withstands the scrutiny, no other comfort lasts, no one else can save you before death beacons.
I resonated with Ryan's attempt to be smarter, stronger than others, using them before he could get hurt. "As I whole, I had made it my mission to become someone who nobody could take advantage of anymore by being smarter, savvier, and stronger." SAME, Ryan, same 💔 Didn't work for me either. Turns out there will always be someone smart and stronger than you. That those characteristics were never the end-all, be-all creating joy or fullness in life. Only pursuing Jesus can do that.
De-escalation. Boy, I should read that chapter again. I certainly need to apply it- default to it instead of planning my own versions of self-defense- in every aspect of life. Way to call me out on page 50, Ryan. Ouch. My anxiety-driven self preserving justification cannot be described as meek, but there's no reason it can't be both. Heck, both is probably the best self preservation I could apply ... Look at that, sanctification happening in real time! My pastor will be sooo grateful to you 😄
Caleb's wisdom when he said 'I don't want to name this horse based on who he is right now but who he is going to be' oh man, dagger to the heart. Reminds me of the old adage that satan calls us by our sin, but God calls us by name. Beautiful!
The stories of Landon, Caleb, Dawson, and Lucas and their mustangs made me crave more information! How did it go? Where are they now? I love the testimony and reminder of the limitless power of the Holy Spirit! Tension builds as readers hear of Ryan's struggle with pride in the beginning of his influencer journey - does he get a handle on it? Does he still struggle with that sin? We know where he is physically, today- how did he achieve that kind of "success"? The section explaining Moses from a historic perspective with modern examples was very enlightening. Reid's vision and Connor's call were heartbreaking and gutting- Ryan's response? Shocking! Reading a man invested a million dollars into Ryan- what?! A peek into Annie's story? 😭💔 The power in Carole and Jacob's story! And Dylan! Oh, Dylan. I wish I could buy him lunch and just listen as he shared whatever he learned that day!
Final take aways: Life is hard. Being hard doesn't make it easier. Christians need REAL community that will show up, listen with open hearts, pray fervently, and address sin in love. We need to be those kinds of siblings AND humbly take confrontations seriously if we want to glorify God well and grow in our sanctification. The fastest and best way to do that is by being in Scripture, prayer, and letting the Holy Spirit guide you.
Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers and NetGalley for this ARC!
October 25, 2026
I’ve been tuning into Ryan’s podcast (The Jesus People podcast) for a while now. The same humility, authenticity, and spiritual wisdom from his podcast are found in this book. I strongly recommend giving this a read. I read it on Audible—it was so good I’m going to buy a physical copy for my bookshelf.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews