Jessi Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast
Jessi Morgan in 2023 had a traumatic experience that shaped how she views life and her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God has laid it on her heart to share her experiences and inspire others to put God first in every aspect of their life like she finally did in hers. Having her daughter born 4 months early really made Jessi lean on the Lord for comfort and guidance. And today she stands here starting her own 10-15 minute podcast focusing on weekly devotionals about what God can do for you and what He's done for her.
Jessi Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast
A Hard Decision That Was Worth it
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Difficult decisions—we all face them, but how do we know when the painful choice is actually the right one? In this thought-provoking devotional, I share a personal story from my management days at Macy's flagship store in New York that taught me something profound about leadership and sacrifice.
When my team faced dangerous working conditions in a sweltering sub-basement stockroom, I had to choose between preserving my spotless record or fighting for their wellbeing.
Samuel's leadership journey mirrors this tension perfectly. After successfully restoring Israel's relationship with God and defeating the Philistines, Samuel faces heartbreak when the people reject divine leadership in favor of a human king. God's response is stunning: "It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king." Yet even in this painful moment, God allowed a decision He knew would bring suffering.
The parallels are unmistakable. Sometimes what appears to be a setback or loss becomes the very pathway to our greatest blessing. As Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Whether you're facing a difficult workplace decision, family challenge, or spiritual crossroads, this devotional will encourage you to trust God's perfect perspective, even when the right choice comes with a personal cost. Listen now and discover how God uses our hardest moments to bring about His perfect plan.
Key Passages:
Proverbs 3:5-6
1 Samuel 7-8
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Hello, hello. You're listening to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast, episode 66. This week's devotional is titled A Hard Decision that Was Worth it study of 1 Samuel 7 and 8. Let's go. Hi, I'm Jesse Morgan. I used to just share home decor and renovation tips on social media, but now I'm sharing something even closer to my heart my journey and love for Jesus Christ, my Savior. Welcome to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Hot Podcast.
Speaker 1:This is a weekly devotional. I started back in May 2024, but the inspiration for it came much earlier. It was rooted in a faith journey that began when my daughter was born, four months early in 2023. Through that challenging time, god worked in ways that truly amazed me. On this podcast, I share personal stories of faith, woven together with scripture, to show just how incredible God's word can be in our everyday lives. My hope is that through these stories, you'll be encouraged, uplifted and reminded of God's love and presence, no matter what you're going through. So I invite you to spend less than 15 minutes with me each week as we reflect on these devotionals together. Let's all pray within A hard decision that was worth it. Key passages 1 Samuel 7-8, proverbs 3, 5-6. Hello and welcome back to the podcast.
Speaker 1:I wanted to start today with a story of my own and I just wanted to say this story had been in my mind for like five, six days. I wanted to start today with a story of my own and I just wanted to say this story had been in my mind for like five, six days. I didn't know how it was going to tie into anything that I was studying right now and it just beautifully did so. I just want to thank you, lord, for that. Anyways, this story is really talking about making hard decisions and how sometimes that can be really grueling as a leader.
Speaker 1:So, to start off, I used to work at Macy's flagship store on 34th Street in New York. As many people know by now, probably, I managed the handbag and accessories floor during a massive, multimillion dollar renovation. My team was incredible over a hundred associates, many who had been there for decades. I mean, these people were here when Macy's was still selling dryers and washing machines and like meat, so like that should tell you. But anyways, um, me and this team, we built such strong trust. Even in a unionized building there was a union in this building and the team still trusted me, worked with me the whole time and I had something very rare zero grievances filed against me, meaning if you're in a union and the associates not happy with a manager, they can write a grievance to the union. The union gets involved with HR and HR calls you up and you have to have a plan. You have to write down all your stuff Like it's a whole process, and of course it's in your file. And for me I had zero grievances. Hr thought that was unheard of at the time.
Speaker 1:Anyways, back to the renovation. We finally moved into our brand new stock room in the sub-basement, two floors below street level. Within weeks the AC broke. It was over a hundred degrees down there, no ventilation, no fresh air. My hair looked atrocious because of the sweat, so imagine how everybody else felt. And we had pregnant employees down there, older workers and people with health concerns down there. I emailed our operations manager but there was just no urgency. By day three I had enough. I had told my team we're not working down here today and then I shocked them and I told them write a grievance. They didn't want to. They were worried that it would hurt my record or I would get in trouble for that, but I insisted. I also went straight to labor relations, brought them down to see for themselves, and, and by the next day the AC was fixed. Yes, I got written up and yes, it hurt to lose that spotless record, but the decision straightened you know the decisions like really strengthened my bond with my team. It made me a bolder leader. It proved to them that I would fight for them if they were doing the right thing.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, leadership means taking a costly choice for the sake of those you're responsible for, and so that's exactly what made me think of today's scripture too 1 Samuel 7, chapter 7 and 8. So when we go into 1 Samuel 7, it really talks about how Samuel's leadership restores Israel. So in 1 Samuel 7, verse 3, samuel says this to Israel If you are returning to the Lord with all your hearts, then rid yourself of the foreign gods and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Now, remember, the Ark of Covenant has been brought back to Israel, but the Ark of Covenant is just a symbol. It's not God itself. And it was like, after the Ark of Covenant finally came back to Israel, israel was just abandoned for 20 years. God was not listening, god was not answering. They were mourning, and so Samuel had to basically tell them this is how you get back in the grace with the Lord Get rid of those other gods, worship the Lord Almighty. And so Israel obeyed. Finally, and in verse 10, while they were offering a sacrifice to the Lord, the Philistines attacked. And scripture says in verse 10, it says the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. So God gave them victory and restored their land, which is in chapter 714. And Samuel led faithfully, judging Israel all his life, and everything was going really well, as we see as you read.
Speaker 1:And then we go into 1 Samuel 8, and it just it's like a big turn and when I really read it I get confused, so let me just explain Anyway. So chapter 8 opens with Samuel appointing his sons as judges. Now, remember, samuel appointed them as judges. God did not appoint them as judges. Two different things. So that was in Samuel 8, 1 through 3.
Speaker 1:And, unlike Samuel, his sons were corrupted. The elders came to Samuel in verse 5 and said you are old and your sons do not follow your ways. Now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have. Samuel heard this and he was just hurt. But in verses 7 through 9 of chapter 8, god told him it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me. So Samuel went back to the people and warned them, detailing in verses 11 through 17 of chapter 8, how a king would take their sons, daughters, fields, harvests and flocks. But in verse 19, it says that the people refused to listen to Samuel. No, they said we want a king over us. And God allowed it. A decision he knew would bring pain and corruption. Yet he also knew that through this monarchy would come King David, and from King David's line would be Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:And in both my sub-basement story and God's choice in 1 Samuel 8, there's a painful decision that costs something in short term. For me, it was my perfect record. For God it was allowing his people to reject him as king. But here's the beauty part of it God's decision ultimately led to the greatest blessing the birth of Jesus, the king of kings. And in my own small way, my decision brought relief, safety and trust to my team.
Speaker 1:So if you're facing hard decisions, remember Proverbs 3, 5 through 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, and all your ways submit to him and he will make you and make your paths straight. Let's pray, heavenly Father. Thank you so much for the study of 1 Samuel, 7 and 8. We are so grateful for the foundation these chapters lay in helping us understand the tough decisions you had to make, even allowing your people to be led astray so many times. And, father, we reflect on how Israel's painful choice to want a king rather than trust you as their king was something you allowed. And yet out of that decision, you brought forth the greatest king of all time, which is Jesus Christ. Without him, we would not be saved, forgiven of our sins or have the hope of spending eternity in heaven with you. Thank you, lord. We thank you so much for showing us that, even when situations seem hard or wrong in the moment, you can bring a good or perfect outcome when you are at the center of it. And, father, I just thank you so much for everything you've done. Bless everyone who listens to this podcast and, father, we just love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Love you all. Till next time we will finally be entering the monarchy. Stay tuned.
Speaker 1:Well, that wraps up this week's episode. I hope these devotions help you draw closer to God each day. If this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone who might need the same message, and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a weekly episode. Also, if you feel compelled, leaving a nice review would be so appreciated as well. For more information or to reach out, check the show notes or visit jessimorganhomecom or find me on Instagram at jessimorganlife. Remember God's timing is always perfect. Keep trusting him Until next time.
Speaker 1:This is Jessi Morgan praying off. Jessi Morgan Devotions behind the scenes, starting right now. Hello, hello and welcome back. I know I haven't done some behind the scenes for a couple of weeks, so I wanted to come on today because I feel like I had more to say and I just wanted to really touch on that today. As you know, we focused on chapter 7 and 8 of 1 Samuel, but we focused on chapter seven and eight of 1 Samuel and I just wanted to go back and really reiterate.
Speaker 1:Imagine Israel was abandoned by God for like 20 plus years. Philistines were ruling over them. It's like they didn't hear a pin drop from the Lord for 20 years. I mean that's pretty depressing, honestly. And finally, samuel is of age, he raises up, he calls out the Israelites. Finally, samuel is of age, he raises up, he calls out the Israelites you know, repent, stop following these other gods. And they do it, they repent, they're doing sacrifices, they have turned back to the Lord and they basically and God blesses them and they defeat the Philistines, I mean. And then now they've been appointed with a really great judge, and you know, we know that Samuel is anointed by the Lord and everything.
Speaker 1:And then all of a sudden, you know, I guess the decision of Samuel appointing his own sons to be judges and they were evil and not doing what they were supposed to do was obviously not good. But then they come to him and said look, this isn't working. And of course you could call him out and say his sons are not the one. And you would think, okay, find us another judge because you're getting older. That's fine. I think Samuel would be very receptive to that. It's like, hey, you need to retire and ask God to appoint somebody else, fine.
Speaker 1:But they came in there and said we want a king, we want somebody to rule over us. And you're sitting there thinking to yourself what a slap in the face for the fact that they had been abandoned for 20 years. God delivers them in a big way against the Philistines. We all know the Philistines is a huge enemy of Israel back then. And then they asked for a king. They want to be like the rest of the nations. How many other kings did Israel defeat to take over the promised land? And you want a king. You think that's going to lead you there. I mean, imagine how that made Samuel feel. And then imagine how that made God feel. I mean, and he told Samuel no, don't be upset, don't take it personal. They're rejecting me Even after everything I've done. I've delivered them and everything. They're rejecting me Even after everything I've done. I've delivered them and everything. They're rejecting me. And that verse just crushed me.
Speaker 1:I think that's one of the verses in the Bible to me that really shows God's emotion and just I think the word reject is just so powerful anyway, and you know I wanted to pull up that definition really quick in Hebrew and what it means. Here it is, and reject means in Hebrew it means to refuse, to despise or reject as unacceptable. It often refers to many times that in the Old Testament rejection is mentioned, because it really shows that God rejected Israel for all the sins that they did. So imagine that God did all these miracles and delivered them, and then they turned around and they rejected him, they denounced him, they discarded God. They're like no, we don't want that. We want a king, we want a physical human being to rule us. I mean, imagine how insulting that is. I really think about it. I said the Lord really loves Israel, god loves us.
Speaker 1:Because how many times a day do we do things and we're rejecting God, we're discarding him? We're like oh, we just want to do what we want to do. We want to believe what we want to believe. We want to make the decisions the way we want to make the decisions, without following up with the Lord first. When we don't seek out God, we're rejecting him, we're discarding him. Think about it like that, and I had to think about it like that, and it's making me hold myself accountable more. I'm going to hold myself accountable more.
Speaker 1:It's a revelation that I'm literally sitting here right now telling you in real time like I need to do better. I am no, I am not perfect in this, and so that part of the scriptures and chapter eight just really hit me today and I just wanted to leave you with that. Anyways, I am so excited for the next steps within the next studies. Within 1 Samuel, we are now entering the monarchy the monarchy, and this should be interesting, fun, grueling, sad, exciting, mean, nice, all together in one. And what I really want to get out of this is, yes, we're going to be entering the life of Saul, and I think the greatest thing that you can take from that is seeing how Saul ruled and lived his life versus how Jesus ruled and lived his life, and I think it's going to be such a great study to really analyze and I'm so excited to bring it to you. So stay tuned. Love you all till next time.
