God's Strategy & Black Friday: Joshua 8

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Trusting God's strategy can transform our lives in profound ways, as discussed in this week’s episode of Jessi Morgan’s podcast. We reflect on the significant biblical narrative in Joshua 8, where divine guidance led the Israelites from defeat to victory. Jessi draws parallels with her own experience managing retail during Black Friday, illustrating how well-planned strategies can be crucial to overcoming challenges. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, hello.
You're listening to the JesseMorgan Devotions for the
Christian Heart Podcast, episode43.
This week's devotional istitled God's Strategy and Black
Friday Joshua 8.
Let's do this.
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

(00:20):
heart my journey and love forJesus Christ, my Savior.
Welcome to the Jesse MorganDevotions for the Christian Hawk
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

(00:42):
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

(01:04):
week as we reflect on thesedevotionals together.
Let's all pray within God'sStrategy and Black Friday Key
passages and verses Joshua 8 andProverbs 16.3.
I was seriously planning tomerge Joshua 8 and 9 together
this week and focus more onchapter 9.

(01:26):
But as I was studying Joshua 8,god laid it on my heart to stay
in this chapter alone.
So here we are.
Also, before I start, I justwant to say thank you to all the
support and welcome the newlisteners.
We have been doing a study onthe book of Joshua and right now
we're focusing it on Joshua 8,like we said before, but just

(01:48):
really excited to have you here.
So, like I said, picking up atthe book of Joshua in chapter 7,
as we looked at last week, endswith Israel stoning Achan and
his family after he disobeyedGod's command to dedicate all
the plunder from Jericho to theLord.
Instead, achan secretly tooksome for himself and hid it.

(02:09):
The result Israel wasimmediately defeated by the city
of Ai because of Achan'sdeception.
Now, yes, being stoned is harsh, but that was the standard back
then.
And there's something in thispassage that stood out to me.
Look at Joshua 7, 26 throughJoshua 8, 1.
Over Achan, they heaped up alarge pile of rocks, which

(02:33):
remains to this day.
Then the Lord turned from hisfierce anger.
Therefore, that place has beencalled the Valley of Acre ever
since.
Then the Lord said to Joshua donot be afraid, do not be
discouraged.
Take the whole army with youand go up and attack I, for I
have delivered into your handsthe king of I, his people, his
city and his land.

(02:53):
After Achan's sin was dealtwith, as we see, god comforted
Joshua and told him I havealready delivered I into your
hands.
All they had to do was followGod's plan, and that's really
what Joshua 8 talks about.
It's just this amazingstrategic plan on how they
captured Ai.

(03:13):
And here's what stood out to me.
God's strategy for Ai wascompletely different than
Jericho.
So in Joshua 8, god gave Israela new strategy to defeat Ai.
Here's how it's set up.
Number one set a trap.
Joshua sent 30,000 men to hidebehind the city at night.

(03:34):
Number two fake a retreat.
The main Israelite armyapproached Ai, then pretended to
flee.
Number three then pretended toflee.
Number three draw Ai out.
Ai's army chased after Israel,leaving their city unprotected.
Step four ambush and conquerthe hidden Israelite forces

(03:55):
attacked and burned the city.
And number five total victory.
Ai's army was trapped betweenIsrael's two forces and they
were defeated.
This strategy requiredobedience, patience and precise
execution.
No-transcript.
What a plan, what a strategy.

(04:17):
Israel had to trust God'sstrategy and him.
Despite how they lost thebattle the first time they were
trying to take over Ai, it tookan ambitious strategy to win in
the end.
For Joshua and his people,strategy by definition really
means to achieve one or morelong time goals over uncertain

(04:41):
conditions.
After really looking at Joshua 8, I have a story that really put
everything in perspective forme.
So here it is.
Last June, I did a podcastepisode called Satan Smackdown
go back and check it out where Ishared about dealing with a
tough boss in New York whileworking at the flagship Macy's
on 34th Street.
Well, today we're going to goback to that time of my life,

(05:05):
but this time from a businessstrategy perspective.
I was a merchandise manager forhandbags in the biggest Macy's
store in the country, handlingmerchandise execution, business
strategy and analysis whileleading a team of nearly 100
people.
At one point In 2013, before Itook over handbags, michael Kors

(05:26):
was the it brand.
Everyone wanted a Safianoleather satchel or a Hamilton
tote, especially in black orcamel.
Those bags flew off the shelvesand, as you can see, I still
have those bags imprinted in mybrain.
As many of you know, blackFriday has always been the
biggest shopping day in theUnited States.

(05:46):
But back then, retailers,macy's included, started opening
their doors on Thanksgivingnight to maximize sales more so,
after inhaling my Thanksgivingdinner, I'd be right back at the
store on Thanksgiving night.
So Thanksgiving 2013,.
Macy's opened at 6 pm and thefloor was absolute mayhem.

(06:08):
Michael Kors was packed.
There were six associates andone manager covering the section
, which seemed like enough,maybe, until the doors opened
and customers pounced.
It was so chaotic that even ourregional VP jumped on a
register to help.

(06:29):
The ratio of customer to salesassociates was like 12-1.
Insane.
No one could have expected thatlevel of response.
Nobody was prepared for it.
So fast forward to 2014, when Itook over handbags, the district
vice president and the districtoperations director pulled me
and my operations manager aside.

(06:49):
In August of that year, threeand a half months before Black
Friday, they told us we need agame plan for Michael Kors.
They told us we need a gameplan for Michael Kors.
So, me and my ops manager, westrategized.
Here's what we came up with.

(07:12):
So step one customers placedtheir orders on the sales floor
through our handheld devices,like they have in the shoe
department, and the requestwould go straight to the stock
room.
Step two the stock team,located two floors down in the
sub-basement, would pull thebags and sort them based on
order time.
Each bag was labeled with thecustomer's name as well.
Step three stock associateswould then bring the orders up

(07:34):
just one floor where additionalsales associates were stationed
at registers to processtransactions quickly.
Step four meanwhile, ascustomers waited, they were
redirected down an escalator toa designated Michael Kors
shopping area with moremerchandise.
A brand rep would assist themwhile they were waiting for

(07:55):
their order.
And finally, step five when thebag arrived, the customer's
name was called for checkout.
Each purchase included a BlackFriday promo booklet with
additional deals.
Yep, seems intense, right, itwas a wild system.
But let me tell you.
That year, michael Kors pulledin $25 million in sales.

(08:18):
For the year it became thenumber two business in Herald
Square, right behind RalphLauren Polo.
All this for a bag a bag.
But here's the thing it wasn'tjust about selling handbags.
It was about strategy.
It was about anticipating anuncertainty in the customer
demand and creating a system tomeet it smoothly.

(08:41):
That's what builds trust, keepscustomers coming back and
ultimately drives success.
Sometimes it's hard for us tolet go and trust the plan, but
when God lays out a game plan,we need to follow it with
precision, because he hasalready won the battle.
Don't fall into the trap ofwhat ifs or what if this doesn't

(09:02):
go to plan.
When it comes to God, yourbackup plans like plan B, c and
D won't even compare to God's Aplan right.
Executing that Black Fridaystrategy was stressful, but
after months of preparation, wehad to trust the process.
I remember my store manager,who was new to her role, the

(09:23):
tough one I talked about earlier.
She was trying to redirect asupport associate and sculling
them on the floor for notrunning orders.
My ops manager had to step in,thank the Lord, and explained
that their job was to maintainthe floor and not move stock.
My store manager realized shewas just out of her realm and

(09:46):
for the rest of the night,stayed out of the way.
Yes, thank the Lord she did.
If we had focused on trying toplease her instead of sticking
to our plan, the entire strategycould have fallen apart.
So some lessons here are alesson, the main lesson here
don't let people used by theenemy distract you from your

(10:09):
plan.
That's exactly what Satan wants.
Satan wants you to questionyour God-given strategy, your
faithful choices, your decisions, he'll whisper in your ear.
Are you sure this is the rightdirection?
Didn't God do it differentlybefore?
Why change now?
Sound familiar?
Sometimes we expect God to movethe same way he did before, but

(10:31):
he may have a completelydifferent plan for your next
battle.
The key is to seek him, trusthim and follow his strategy.
You pray and use the Bible,because he's already delivered
the victory.
Block out the noise.
We blocked out my storemanager's unnecessary noise, and

(10:52):
Israel did the same After theirinitial defeat of Ai.
The first time they weredefeated by Ai, israel could
have been in their feelings,questioning whether to fight the
same enemy again, but instead,after Achan was, you know, taken
care of.
Basically, they followed God'sstrategy and won.

(11:15):
They didn't second guess oranything.
They did exactly what Goddirected them to do.
I don't know about you, but Ilike being on the winning team
with God, so I hope my crazyMacy's story reminds you that
strategy is key, not just inbusiness but in our walk with

(11:35):
Christ.
Israel.
Ambushing I was a testament tofollowing through on God's plan.
My team and I having the rightplan was a testament of the
success and the perseverancethat we dealt with during
holiday season and we followedthrough, despite any type of
distractions, issues or anything.
When we follow every detail ofinstruction, blessings follow.

(11:58):
What an amazing truth to holdon to.
And when we follow God'sstrategy, yes, you deserve to be
blessed.
I would love to end this with averse, and I find it perfect for
this story and applicationProverbs 16, 3,.
It says commit to the Lordwhatever you do, and he will

(12:18):
establish your plans.
Amen, let's pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you somuch for the book of Joshua and
for everyone who listened todayand this week.
I pray that someone wasinspired, comforted and felt
your guidance in their life.
Lord, I'm so grateful for theplatform you've given me and I
pray that it continues to spreadthe good news of who you are.

(12:40):
Thank you for the powerfullesson in Joshua 8, reminding us
that when we trust in your planand follow your strategy, even
in the uncertainty, we willsucceed.
You led us to victory when welisten and obey.
Thank you for the comfort youprovide, for the wisdom found in
your word and for the truththat guides us to salvation.
We love you, we praise you andwe give you all the glory In

(13:04):
Jesus' name, amen.
Well, that wraps up this week'sepisode.
I hope these devotions help youdraw 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 weeklyepisode.
Also, if you feel compelled,leaving a nice review would be

(13:26):
so appreciated as well.
For more information or toreach out, check the show notes
or visit jessimorganhomecom orfind me on Instagram at
jessimorganlife.
Remember God's timing is alwaysperfect.
Keep trusting him Until nexttime.
This is Jessi Morgan prayingoff.