September 18, 2025 • 19 mins
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What happens when faith collides with pride on the battlefield? In this eye-opening devotional, we dive deep into 1 Samuel 14, where two contrasting approaches to crisis emerge through a father and son.
The contrast couldn't be clearer: Jonathan moves in selfless faith while Saul operates from selfish pride. I share a personal story from my high school track days about a coach whose rigid, illogical "preparation plan" mirrors Saul's counterproductive oath—both ended in frustration and were ultimately washed away.
Which approach characterizes your life? Are your plans and promises centered on glorifying God or serving yourself? When we trust God with impossible situations, He often delivers in ways we never imagined possible.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, hello.
You're listening to the JesseMorgan Devotions for the
Christian Heart Podcast, episode6-9.
This week's devotional istitled Faith Like Jonathan vs
Pride Like Saul.
Let's go.
Hi, I'm Jesse Morgan.
I used to just share home decorand renovation tips on social
media, but now I'm sharingsomething even closer to my
(00:21):
heart my journey and love forJesus Christ, my Savior.
Welcome to the Jesse MorganDevotions for the Christian Hot
Podcast.
This is a weekly devotional.
I started back in May 2024, butthe inspiration for it came
much earlier.
It was rooted in a faithjourney that began when my
daughter was born, four monthsearly in 2023.
Through that challenging time,god worked in ways that truly
(00:43):
amazed me.
On this podcast, I sharepersonal stories of faith, woven
together with scripture to showjust how incredible God's word
can be in our everyday lives.
My hope is that through thesestories, you'll be encouraged,
uplifted and reminded of God'slove and presence, no matter
what you're going through.
So I invite you to spend lessthan 15 minutes with me each
(01:05):
week as we reflect on thesedevotionals together.
Let's all pray within.
Hello, and welcome back to thepodcast.
I'm so excited to be here thisweek as we continue our study of
1 Samuel.
Today we're looking at justchapter 14.
There's just so much going onin there I had to just focus on
the one chapter.
And this chapter, to me, is allabout the tale of two men, a
(01:27):
father and a son, and we seeJonathan's bold faith contrasted
with his father, saul's prideand foolishness.
So within chapter 14, we openup with Jonathan.
For those that don't know,jonathan is going to be such an
important person in the book of1 Samuel and he's basically the
heir to the throne, since he'sSaul's son.
(01:49):
So keep that in mind.
And Jonathan really turns outto be such a faith-driven person
.
And this is just such anintricate part of the story.
And I feel like in chapter 14,this is where we really see his
faith in God.
Anyways, like I said, back tothe story.
Israel had just suffered a hugedefeat to the Philistines in
(02:09):
chapter 13.
Now we are in 14.
Saul and his 600 men are campedout on the outskirts,
discouraged and, of course,upset because they had just lost
.
But Jonathan steps out in faith.
It says in 1 Samuel 14, 6,.
Jonathan said to his youngarmor bearer come, let's go over
to the outpost of thoseuncircumcised men, referring to
(02:31):
the Philistines.
Perhaps the Lord will act inour behalf.
Nothing can hinder the Lordfrom saving, whether by many or
by few.
What a statement of faith, youknow.
I mean, he doesn't need a hugearmy, he doesn't even tell his
father what he's doing and hejust trusts the Lord.
And then it says in scripturehis arm bearer replies in verse
(02:55):
seven of chapter 14, do all thatyou have in mind.
His arm bearer said go ahead, Iam with you, heart and soul.
Then Jonathan sets a sign upfor himself.
Basically, in chapter 14,verses nine through 10, it says
(03:17):
if they say to us, wait thereuntil we come to you, we will
stay where we are and not go upto them.
But if they say, come up to us,we will climb up, because that
will be the sign that the Lordhas given them into our hands.
Sure enough, the Philistinesmocked Jonathan and the armor
(03:37):
bearer when they saw it and theysaid come up to us and we'll
teach you a lesson.
This was verse 12.
Jonathan and his armor bearerclimbed up and in the first
attack they killed about 20 menthemselves.
Then panic strikes the wholePhilistine army.
There's chaos and earthquakeand they begin fighting each
other and Saul realizes Jonathanis missing and he joins the
(04:01):
fight with his men and Israelsecures a massive, massive
victory.
All of it started becauseJonathan believed God could win
a battle with many or with few.
And it makes me think aboutthose old Bugs Bunny cartoons,
the Looney Tunes cartoons, whereBugs dares a monster to step
(04:21):
over a line in the sand againand again and again, until the
monster finally steps off acliff.
The Philistines' arrogance insaying come up here was their
arrogance talking.
Jonathan knew that was theLord's signal.
That kind of confidence doesn'tcome from cockiness, it comes
(04:43):
from knowing God is with you.
So now the second half ofchapter 14 shifts to Saul.
While Jonathan is moving infaith, saul is like making rash
decisions.
Let's just say so.
In 1 Samuel 14, verse 24, itsays Now, the Israelites were in
(05:07):
distress that day because Saulhad bound the people under an
oath saying cursed be anyone whoeats food before evening comes
before I have avenged myself onmy enemies.
So none of the troops tastedfood.
Now, y'all can you imagine?
Y'all can you imagine Hissoldiers are in the middle of
(05:32):
battle, exhausted, and heforbids them to eat.
This wasn't fasting upon ontothe Lord, it was pride and
control.
Jonathan, who hadn't heard theoath ate some honey, and
scripture says in verse 27,.
He reached out the end of thestaff that was in his hand and
he dipped it into the honeycomb.
He raised his hand to his mouthand his eyes were brightened.
(05:54):
That little taste of honeyrevived him.
But when Saul found out he wasready to put Jonathan to death
for breaking the oath, thepeople around him had to
intervene and save Jonathan'slife, reminding Saul it was
Jonathan's faith that broughtthem this victory in the first
place.
Insane, just insane.
(06:16):
So, saul, I just got to go backto this really quick because it
just blows my mind reading thisevery time.
So Saul makes this oath thatnobody can eat, reading this
every time.
So Saul makes this oath thatnobody can eat until evening.
And I just think about what aridiculous thing to say in the
middle of a war.
Your men are hungry, tired anddrained and you're telling them
(06:39):
they can't eat until you'veavenged yourself.
It wasn't about God at all, itwas about him.
And you know that part of thestory reminded me of something
from my own life back in highschool, when I ran track and
field.
We were getting ready to go tothe Florida relays, which was
always a big deal for us.
It's like one of the mostpremier relay meets in the state
(07:00):
of Florida.
It's at the university ofFlorida, which, if people don't
know, university of Florida hasamazing track and field
facilities and probably in thelast like four years or so
they've won like at least twoout of the last like four
national championships incollege, like they're really a
great track program.
So back then they were too andtheir facilities were amazing.
(07:21):
So we love going up toGainesville and racing in it,
you know.
So anyways, like I said, we weregetting ready to go to the
Florida relays and my head coachhad this brilliant idea At
least he thought it wasbrilliant.
They were going to.
You know, he wanted us to do aspecial regimen to prepare.
None of us had any clue whatwas coming and what that was
(07:44):
Didn't really know.
We were doing it, to be honest,but you know, okay, we had an
idea at least.
So we get in the bus five hoursup to Gainesville, all of us in
sweats and sandals andflip-flops, bags stuffed under
the bus and about an hour intothe drive coach starts passing
water bottles down the aisle.
(08:05):
All right, everyone drink halfnow, save the half.
For later he says we all kindof looked at each other like,
okay, you know, but we did itand I'll be honest, that water
was nasty.
I was like what is in thiswater?
And he said it was a specialelectrolyte or something.
And I think back thenelectrolytes really didn't taste
that good.
They taste like really good now.
(08:26):
So, yeah, that was not good.
Anyways, so we keep riding andthen 45 minutes later he makes
the bus stop at a rest area.
You know we're thinking get abreak.
Okay, cool, we're off theturnpike.
Cool, shoes on, let's go take alap.
That's what he says.
And we were all stunned.
(08:47):
We were like coach, around therest stop.
Someone asked yes, around therest stop, blood flow, blood
flow Can't be sitting still thisthat long.
And the problem was half of usdidn't have our sneakers.
We had flip-flops on, our shoeswere under the bus.
He wouldn't budge.
So picture 50 high schoolathletes jogging around a gas
(09:09):
station in a picnic area insandals, people staring at us
like we've lost our mind.
We finally get back on the bus,sweaty and annoyed because we
are in Florida, humidity, andthen coach basically pats us
down before we sit back down andhe said nobody better have
bought candy or soda.
(09:30):
He checks our little purses andeverything as we get back on
the bus.
We looked at each other like,is this for real?
So yeah, then at dinner thatnight, it even got better.
He takes us to Olive Garden,which should have been amazing,
because, you know, thosebreadsticks are the bomb.
We were dreaming of them allthe way up the highway.
(09:52):
But he stands up at the frontof the table and says okay, guys
, you can order from this menu,the special menu I made for you.
That has three items plainpasta, pasta with a little bit
of nothing on it, and some vegantype pasta.
And no sauce, no meat, noextras, just carbs.
(10:13):
We were stunned.
We hadn't eaten all day, mindyou, like we really hadn't eaten
.
So my best friend, johanna, whoI'm going to feature this week,
who is hilarious at times withhow she thinks and how she
processes things Johanna raisedher hand and said coach, can I
(10:33):
at least get chicken on the side?
We need protein.
I'm running the 800 metertomorrow.
That's a long race.
He looked at her and he shookhis head.
No, johanna, we're keeping itclean.
Trust the plan.
She tried again.
But, coach, our bodiesliterally need protein to
recover.
This isn't logical.
He cut her off.
(10:55):
That's enough.
No chicken, no protein.
End of discussion.
And of course Joe wasn't havingit.
She said, coach, you wouldn'tput gas in a car without oil.
Protein is our oil.
And at that point the wholetable was trying not to laugh,
including me.
The waiter stood thereawkwardly holding a plate of
(11:16):
grilled chicken while two ofthem debated science and
nutrition in front of the entireOlive Garden.
In the end, coach took thechicken away and said if I see
anyone with meat, you're off therelay.
We all went to bed hungry andthe next morning God sent one of
the craziest storms I had everseen Wind, rain, thunder.
(11:38):
The whole meat got rained out,flooded out.
We didn't even race.
All that random regimen was fornothing.
And when I think about it now,it reminds me of Saul's oath.
He made his men miserable inthe middle of battle with a plan
that didn't make sense andwasn't for the Lord, and just
(12:00):
like that, it almost cost himeverything, including his son.
Looking back, it's almost funny.
But it taught me something too,with my relay story.
We can come up with our ownoath, with your own plan,
basically, but if God isn't init.
He can wipe it away in a moment, just like he literally rained
(12:21):
out that meat.
He can wash out any plan thatisn't aligned with him.
So Jonathan's faith was self,know, was selfless.
He simply trusted God.
And it says perhaps the Lordwill act in our behalf.
And then Saul's oath wasselfish.
Before I avenged myself on myenemies, as he said.
(12:44):
That's the difference One actedin faith and the other one
acted in pride.
So here's a question for you orfor us in general when we make
plans or promises, are theyabout glorifying God or are they
about serving ourselves?
If it's only about us, it won'tlast.
(13:05):
Jonathan's story, you know,reminds us that nothing can
hinder the Lord from saving 14.6for Samuel.
Saul's story warns us thatempty, self-driven plans only
lead to exhaustion andfrustration.
So my encouragement this weekis be a Jonathan and don't be
(13:28):
like his daddy.
Put the Lord at the center ofyour decisions.
Walk in faith, not selfishoaths.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I thank you somuch for this study of 1 Samuel.
Thank you so much for thisamazing chapter that really, you
know, combines how we need tounderstand faith and how we need
to understand being selfless.
(13:50):
And Lord, we thank you so muchfor your love and compassion.
We thank you so much for thelessons that you bring us every
day through your word and Father.
We hope that we can be aJonathan, we can show faith, we
can see a tough situation andstill believe that God can
deliver at the end.
Help us to not create our ownplans, create our own oaths, and
(14:13):
in the end, it's always aboutdelivering it just for us and
our needs and our glory, and notyours.
Lord, father, we love you andwe praise you.
I pray for everybody listeningto this podcast this week.
Be with them, encourage them.
Lord Love you and we praise youin Jesus name.
Amen, love you all till nexttime.
Well, that wraps up this week'sepisode.
My prayer is that thesedevotions bring you a little
(14:35):
closer to God each day.
If you felt encouraged, don'tkeep it to yourself.
Share this episode with afriend or loved one who could
use the same reminder.
Be sure to hit subscribe so younever miss a weekly message and
, if you like, leaving a kindreview means so much For more.
Check the show notes or connectwith me on Instagram or TikTok
(14:56):
at jessimorganfaith Until nexttime.
This is Jessi Morgan prayingoff.
Jessi Morgan Devotions behindthe scenes, starting right now.
Hello, hello and welcome backto Behind the Scenes Today.
(15:28):
I just wanted to say somethingreally quick that was on my
heart and I know that there'sbeen a lot of just fighting and
hate within our country rightnow, and you know I'm a person
that I don't talk about politicslike that on my podcast.
I do that on purpose, becausemy focus is I want you to focus
on the scripture, god's word,and I just feel like when you
(15:49):
add in your political views, youwill alienate somebody else,
and because that's just howheightened it is right now in
our world.
So I don't discuss it, but Iwill say this it has turned into
(16:20):
the mouthpiece, it has turnedinto everything that people live
and breathe by.
And I just want to just saythis that when you are
criticizing, when you aresharing your viewpoint and it's
aggressive, or you're callingsomebody, oh, they're demons, oh
, they shouldn't be parents,they shouldn't be this, they
don't deserve this, they'reawful, they're this Like.
(16:44):
I think sometimes we do a reallybad job of forgetting why we
are here as Christians, job offorgetting why we are here as
Christians.
A lot of times, I think wespeak to our audience and that's
what social media is.
It's about having a followingand you speak to your audience
and you try to appeal to youraudience, but sometimes you got
to remember that people can justwander onto your page and
(17:08):
they're a newcomer.
So what does your profileshowcase?
And if you are just on a rantat the moment, criticizing
something that you disagree withper se, and somebody random
goes and sees your stories forthe first time and you might be
(17:30):
that first beacon of a Christianthat they see and it comes off
like you are just being ruthlessor you just think that your way
is the right way and it is whatit is, how is that witnessing?
How is that sharing god's wordor representing what it is to be
(17:56):
a child of god?
So I just encourage you tothink about those things.
Your instagram stories are areflection of what you stand for
, and just make sure that it'sin a way that does not alienate
or discriminate or just makesomebody not even want to look
(18:19):
in your direction and just givethem that reason.
See, that's why I don't want todeal with Christians.
So I just encourage you to justthink about that Now that we're
in this day and age of socialmedia.
Your profile, your stories is alot of times the first thing
people see.
So I just want you to thinkabout that, my fellow Christians
(18:47):
, children of God, think aboutthat, because we're here to
encourage and to witness and tobring more people to Christ.
We can't do that if we arefiring off at every cylinder on
(19:07):
our stories, being overlyaggressive.
That's not getting the pointacross.
Love you all, till next time.
Hello, hello.
You're listening to the JesseMorgan Devotions for the
Christian Heart Podcast, episode6-9.
This week's devotional istitled Faith Like Jonathan vs
Pride Like Saul.
Let's go.
Hi, I'm Jesse Morgan.
I used to just share home decorand renovation tips on social
media, but now I'm sharingsomething even closer to my
(00:21):
heart my journey and love forJesus Christ, my Savior.
Welcome to the Jesse MorganDevotions for the Christian Hot
Podcast.
This is a weekly devotional.
I started back in May 2024, butthe inspiration for it came
much earlier.
It was rooted in a faithjourney that began when my
daughter was born, four monthsearly in 2023.
Through that challenging time,god worked in ways that truly
(00:43):
amazed me.
On this podcast, I sharepersonal stories of faith, woven
together with scripture to showjust how incredible God's word
can be in our everyday lives.
My hope is that through thesestories, you'll be encouraged,
uplifted and reminded of God'slove and presence, no matter
what you're going through.
So I invite you to spend lessthan 15 minutes with me each
(01:05):
week as we reflect on thesedevotionals together.
Let's all pray within.
Hello, and welcome back to thepodcast.
I'm so excited to be here thisweek as we continue our study of
1 Samuel.
Today we're looking at justchapter 14.
There's just so much going onin there I had to just focus on
the one chapter.
And this chapter, to me, is allabout the tale of two men, a
(01:27):
father and a son, and we seeJonathan's bold faith contrasted
with his father, saul's prideand foolishness.
So within chapter 14, we openup with Jonathan.
For those that don't know,jonathan is going to be such an
important person in the book of1 Samuel and he's basically the
heir to the throne, since he'sSaul's son.
(01:49):
So keep that in mind.
And Jonathan really turns outto be such a faith-driven person
.
And this is just such anintricate part of the story.
And I feel like in chapter 14,this is where we really see his
faith in God.
Anyways, like I said, back tothe story.
Israel had just suffered a hugedefeat to the Philistines in
(02:09):
chapter 13.
Now we are in 14.
Saul and his 600 men are campedout on the outskirts,
discouraged and, of course,upset because they had just lost
.
But Jonathan steps out in faith.
It says in 1 Samuel 14, 6,.
Jonathan said to his youngarmor bearer come, let's go over
to the outpost of thoseuncircumcised men, referring to
(02:31):
the Philistines.
Perhaps the Lord will act inour behalf.
Nothing can hinder the Lordfrom saving, whether by many or
by few.
What a statement of faith, youknow.
I mean, he doesn't need a hugearmy, he doesn't even tell his
father what he's doing and hejust trusts the Lord.
And then it says in scripturehis arm bearer replies in verse
(02:55):
seven of chapter 14, do all thatyou have in mind.
His arm bearer said go ahead, Iam with you, heart and soul.
Then Jonathan sets a sign upfor himself.
Basically, in chapter 14,verses nine through 10, it says
(03:17):
if they say to us, wait thereuntil we come to you, we will
stay where we are and not go upto them.
But if they say, come up to us,we will climb up, because that
will be the sign that the Lordhas given them into our hands.
Sure enough, the Philistinesmocked Jonathan and the armor
(03:37):
bearer when they saw it and theysaid come up to us and we'll
teach you a lesson.
This was verse 12.
Jonathan and his armor bearerclimbed up and in the first
attack they killed about 20 menthemselves.
Then panic strikes the wholePhilistine army.
There's chaos and earthquakeand they begin fighting each
other and Saul realizes Jonathanis missing and he joins the
(04:01):
fight with his men and Israelsecures a massive, massive
victory.
All of it started becauseJonathan believed God could win
a battle with many or with few.
And it makes me think aboutthose old Bugs Bunny cartoons,
the Looney Tunes cartoons, whereBugs dares a monster to step
(04:21):
over a line in the sand againand again and again, until the
monster finally steps off acliff.
The Philistines' arrogance insaying come up here was their
arrogance talking.
Jonathan knew that was theLord's signal.
That kind of confidence doesn'tcome from cockiness, it comes
(04:43):
from knowing God is with you.
So now the second half ofchapter 14 shifts to Saul.
While Jonathan is moving infaith, saul is like making rash
decisions.
Let's just say so.
In 1 Samuel 14, verse 24, itsays Now, the Israelites were in
(05:07):
distress that day because Saulhad bound the people under an
oath saying cursed be anyone whoeats food before evening comes
before I have avenged myself onmy enemies.
So none of the troops tastedfood.
Now, y'all can you imagine?
Y'all can you imagine Hissoldiers are in the middle of
(05:32):
battle, exhausted, and heforbids them to eat.
This wasn't fasting upon ontothe Lord, it was pride and
control.
Jonathan, who hadn't heard theoath ate some honey, and
scripture says in verse 27,.
He reached out the end of thestaff that was in his hand and
he dipped it into the honeycomb.
He raised his hand to his mouthand his eyes were brightened.
(05:54):
That little taste of honeyrevived him.
But when Saul found out he wasready to put Jonathan to death
for breaking the oath, thepeople around him had to
intervene and save Jonathan'slife, reminding Saul it was
Jonathan's faith that broughtthem this victory in the first
place.
Insane, just insane.
(06:16):
So, saul, I just got to go backto this really quick because it
just blows my mind reading thisevery time.
So Saul makes this oath thatnobody can eat, reading this
every time.
So Saul makes this oath thatnobody can eat until evening.
And I just think about what aridiculous thing to say in the
middle of a war.
Your men are hungry, tired anddrained and you're telling them
(06:39):
they can't eat until you'veavenged yourself.
It wasn't about God at all, itwas about him.
And you know that part of thestory reminded me of something
from my own life back in highschool, when I ran track and
field.
We were getting ready to go tothe Florida relays, which was
always a big deal for us.
It's like one of the mostpremier relay meets in the state
(07:00):
of Florida.
It's at the university ofFlorida, which, if people don't
know, university of Florida hasamazing track and field
facilities and probably in thelast like four years or so
they've won like at least twoout of the last like four
national championships incollege, like they're really a
great track program.
So back then they were too andtheir facilities were amazing.
(07:21):
So we love going up toGainesville and racing in it,
you know.
So anyways, like I said, we weregetting ready to go to the
Florida relays and my head coachhad this brilliant idea At
least he thought it wasbrilliant.
They were going to.
You know, he wanted us to do aspecial regimen to prepare.
None of us had any clue whatwas coming and what that was
(07:44):
Didn't really know.
We were doing it, to be honest,but you know, okay, we had an
idea at least.
So we get in the bus five hoursup to Gainesville, all of us in
sweats and sandals andflip-flops, bags stuffed under
the bus and about an hour intothe drive coach starts passing
water bottles down the aisle.
(08:05):
All right, everyone drink halfnow, save the half.
For later he says we all kindof looked at each other like,
okay, you know, but we did itand I'll be honest, that water
was nasty.
I was like what is in thiswater?
And he said it was a specialelectrolyte or something.
And I think back thenelectrolytes really didn't taste
that good.
They taste like really good now.
(08:26):
So, yeah, that was not good.
Anyways, so we keep riding andthen 45 minutes later he makes
the bus stop at a rest area.
You know we're thinking get abreak.
Okay, cool, we're off theturnpike.
Cool, shoes on, let's go take alap.
That's what he says.
And we were all stunned.
(08:47):
We were like coach, around therest stop.
Someone asked yes, around therest stop, blood flow, blood
flow Can't be sitting still thisthat long.
And the problem was half of usdidn't have our sneakers.
We had flip-flops on, our shoeswere under the bus.
He wouldn't budge.
So picture 50 high schoolathletes jogging around a gas
(09:09):
station in a picnic area insandals, people staring at us
like we've lost our mind.
We finally get back on the bus,sweaty and annoyed because we
are in Florida, humidity, andthen coach basically pats us
down before we sit back down andhe said nobody better have
bought candy or soda.
(09:30):
He checks our little purses andeverything as we get back on
the bus.
We looked at each other like,is this for real?
So yeah, then at dinner thatnight, it even got better.
He takes us to Olive Garden,which should have been amazing,
because, you know, thosebreadsticks are the bomb.
We were dreaming of them allthe way up the highway.
(09:52):
But he stands up at the frontof the table and says okay, guys
, you can order from this menu,the special menu I made for you.
That has three items plainpasta, pasta with a little bit
of nothing on it, and some vegantype pasta.
And no sauce, no meat, noextras, just carbs.
(10:13):
We were stunned.
We hadn't eaten all day, mindyou, like we really hadn't eaten
.
So my best friend, johanna, whoI'm going to feature this week,
who is hilarious at times withhow she thinks and how she
processes things Johanna raisedher hand and said coach, can I
(10:33):
at least get chicken on the side?
We need protein.
I'm running the 800 metertomorrow.
That's a long race.
He looked at her and he shookhis head.
No, johanna, we're keeping itclean.
Trust the plan.
She tried again.
But, coach, our bodiesliterally need protein to
recover.
This isn't logical.
He cut her off.
(10:55):
That's enough.
No chicken, no protein.
End of discussion.
And of course Joe wasn't havingit.
She said, coach, you wouldn'tput gas in a car without oil.
Protein is our oil.
And at that point the wholetable was trying not to laugh,
including me.
The waiter stood thereawkwardly holding a plate of
(11:16):
grilled chicken while two ofthem debated science and
nutrition in front of the entireOlive Garden.
In the end, coach took thechicken away and said if I see
anyone with meat, you're off therelay.
We all went to bed hungry andthe next morning God sent one of
the craziest storms I had everseen Wind, rain, thunder.
(11:38):
The whole meat got rained out,flooded out.
We didn't even race.
All that random regimen was fornothing.
And when I think about it now,it reminds me of Saul's oath.
He made his men miserable inthe middle of battle with a plan
that didn't make sense andwasn't for the Lord, and just
(12:00):
like that, it almost cost himeverything, including his son.
Looking back, it's almost funny.
But it taught me something too,with my relay story.
We can come up with our ownoath, with your own plan,
basically, but if God isn't init.
He can wipe it away in a moment, just like he literally rained
(12:21):
out that meat.
He can wash out any plan thatisn't aligned with him.
So Jonathan's faith was self,know, was selfless.
He simply trusted God.
And it says perhaps the Lordwill act in our behalf.
And then Saul's oath wasselfish.
Before I avenged myself on myenemies, as he said.
(12:44):
That's the difference One actedin faith and the other one
acted in pride.
So here's a question for you orfor us in general when we make
plans or promises, are theyabout glorifying God or are they
about serving ourselves?
If it's only about us, it won'tlast.
(13:05):
Jonathan's story, you know,reminds us that nothing can
hinder the Lord from saving 14.6for Samuel.
Saul's story warns us thatempty, self-driven plans only
lead to exhaustion andfrustration.
So my encouragement this weekis be a Jonathan and don't be
(13:28):
like his daddy.
Put the Lord at the center ofyour decisions.
Walk in faith, not selfishoaths.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I thank you somuch for this study of 1 Samuel.
Thank you so much for thisamazing chapter that really, you
know, combines how we need tounderstand faith and how we need
to understand being selfless.
(13:50):
And Lord, we thank you so muchfor your love and compassion.
We thank you so much for thelessons that you bring us every
day through your word and Father.
We hope that we can be aJonathan, we can show faith, we
can see a tough situation andstill believe that God can
deliver at the end.
Help us to not create our ownplans, create our own oaths, and
(14:13):
in the end, it's always aboutdelivering it just for us and
our needs and our glory, and notyours.
Lord, father, we love you andwe praise you.
I pray for everybody listeningto this podcast this week.
Be with them, encourage them.
Lord Love you and we praise youin Jesus name.
Amen, love you all till nexttime.
Well, that wraps up this week'sepisode.
My prayer is that thesedevotions bring you a little
(14:35):
closer to God each day.
If you felt encouraged, don'tkeep it to yourself.
Share this episode with afriend or loved one who could
use the same reminder.
Be sure to hit subscribe so younever miss a weekly message and
, if you like, leaving a kindreview means so much For more.
Check the show notes or connectwith me on Instagram or TikTok
(14:56):
at jessimorganfaith Until nexttime.
This is Jessi Morgan prayingoff.
Jessi Morgan Devotions behindthe scenes, starting right now.
Hello, hello and welcome backto Behind the Scenes Today.
(15:28):
I just wanted to say somethingreally quick that was on my
heart and I know that there'sbeen a lot of just fighting and
hate within our country rightnow, and you know I'm a person
that I don't talk about politicslike that on my podcast.
I do that on purpose, becausemy focus is I want you to focus
on the scripture, god's word,and I just feel like when you
(15:49):
add in your political views, youwill alienate somebody else,
and because that's just howheightened it is right now in
our world.
So I don't discuss it, but Iwill say this it has turned into
(16:20):
the mouthpiece, it has turnedinto everything that people live
and breathe by.
And I just want to just saythis that when you are
criticizing, when you aresharing your viewpoint and it's
aggressive, or you're callingsomebody, oh, they're demons, oh
, they shouldn't be parents,they shouldn't be this, they
don't deserve this, they'reawful, they're this Like.
(16:44):
I think sometimes we do a reallybad job of forgetting why we
are here as Christians, job offorgetting why we are here as
Christians.
A lot of times, I think wespeak to our audience and that's
what social media is.
It's about having a followingand you speak to your audience
and you try to appeal to youraudience, but sometimes you got
to remember that people can justwander onto your page and
(17:08):
they're a newcomer.
So what does your profileshowcase?
And if you are just on a rantat the moment, criticizing
something that you disagree withper se, and somebody random
goes and sees your stories forthe first time and you might be
(17:30):
that first beacon of a Christianthat they see and it comes off
like you are just being ruthlessor you just think that your way
is the right way and it is whatit is, how is that witnessing?
How is that sharing god's wordor representing what it is to be
(17:56):
a child of god?
So I just encourage you tothink about those things.
Your instagram stories are areflection of what you stand for
, and just make sure that it'sin a way that does not alienate
or discriminate or just makesomebody not even want to look
(18:19):
in your direction and just givethem that reason.
See, that's why I don't want todeal with Christians.
So I just encourage you to justthink about that Now that we're
in this day and age of socialmedia.
Your profile, your stories is alot of times the first thing
people see.
So I just want you to thinkabout that, my fellow Christians
(18:47):
, children of God, think aboutthat, because we're here to
encourage and to witness and tobring more people to Christ.
We can't do that if we arefiring off at every cylinder on
(19:07):
our stories, being overlyaggressive.
That's not getting the pointacross.
Love you all, till next time.
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