April 23, 2025 • 14 mins
Text if you need me? Prayer or just need encouragement…
What happens when we keep falling into the same destructive patterns? Whether it's a toxic relationship or a spiritual stumbling block, breaking free requires more than just recognizing the cycle—it demands changing our environment and responses.
I'm thrilled to introduce our new seven-week journey through the Book of Judges, where we'll explore Israel's repetitive cycle of sin, oppression, crying out to God, divine deliverance, peace, and sadly, returning to sin again. This ancient pattern reflects something profoundly relevant to our modern lives.
Ready to break free from what's holding you back? Join me each week as we learn from Israel's mistakes and discover God's unfailing love that continues to rescue us, even when we've chosen the wrong path repeatedly. Subscribe now and share with someone who might need this message of hope and transformation.
Key passages:
Judges 1-2
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, hello.
You're listening to the JesseMorgan Devotions for the
Christian Heart Podcast, episode51.
This week's devotional istitled the Cycle we Keep
Choosing.
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 the Cyclewe Keep Choosing, episode 51.
Hey friends, as you noticed, Idid not tell you the passage
just yet.
I'm getting ready to revealwhat we'll be studying the next
seven weeks.
Super excited.
So, anyways, welcome back tothe Jesse Morgan Devotions for
(01:27):
the Christian Heart.
I'm really excited you're herewith me today because we're
diving into a brand new series,a seven-week study that I just
mentioned through the book ofGet Ready Judges.
And before we get into it, Iwant to start with something
personal.
This episode might make myhusband cringe a little bit.
(01:53):
Not going to lie, because I'mabout to share a story from my
early 20s a relationship thatwasn't healthy, it wasn't godly
and wasn't doing any favors forme personally, and my husband
hearing that someone mistreatedme will just make him cringe.
Anyways, but this story is agreat example of the exact cycle
(02:16):
we're going to be studying inscripture.
So here's the deal.
I dated this guy in my early 20s.
He wasn't outright mean orabusive, but he didn't treat me
right.
I was never a priority.
Things would be good for liketwo or three weeks or a month,
and then poof, he'd go MIA,missing action, no phone calls,
(02:37):
no texts, nothing.
And I would spiral.
I'd start questioningeverything about myself.
Was I boring?
I start questioning everythingabout myself.
Was I boring, not pretty enough, too much, etc.
I call my girls, my best friendsLauren and Adrian, and vent.
They say things like Jess, comeon, you deserve better.
If he can't even call, what'she really doing?
(02:58):
And then there was Jonathan,one of my best guy friends and
always brutally honest.
He'd say just he's cheating,ain't no dude that busy?
So I pull myself together, cutthings off, try to move on.
Life would settle down, I'dfind some peace again, maybe go
(03:19):
on a few dates, feel good.
Then four or five months later,ding, he's text and the cycle
would just start all over again.
This on and off thing went onfor over five years.
Five years, a never endingcycle.
Why did I let it happen?
Why didn't I just cut it offfor good?
(03:42):
Because deep down I thought Icould change him.
I thought I could handle themess, manage the drama, but in
reality I just kept hurtingmyself Over and over again.
I chose that cycle and it waswrong, not just of him, but of
me too.
And that's where so many of usfind ourselves, spiritually too.
(04:03):
You see, christians fall intocycles all the time.
We sin, we get hurt, we cry outto God.
He delivers us, we feel atpeace and then we go right back
to the same sin again Soundfamiliar?
That's exactly what the book ofJudges is about.
Judges is the book that comesright after Joshua, so we're
(04:25):
picking up right where we leftoff in our last study.
The generation under Joshua hadfaith.
They conquered the promisedland.
They walked with God.
But after Joshua died at 110years old, the next generation
didn't remember what God haddone.
They forgot his miracles, theyforgot his goodness and they
just turned away.
(04:46):
So real quick, let's look atJudges 2, 10 through 11.
It says After that wholegeneration had been gathered to
their ancestors, anothergeneration grew up who neither
knew the Lord nor what he haddone for Israel.
Then the Israelites did evil inthe eyes.
Ball Judges.
(05:09):
Chapter 1 starts with morevictories, of course, but more
land conquered as well.
But by the end of the chapter,in verses 19 through 36, we see
the unraveling, tribe by tribe.
They stopped trusting God, theystopped conquering the land
they were promised and theycompromised.
And so God, righteously angry,lets the land they failed to
(05:34):
take over rise up and oppressthem.
This sets the tone for theentire book of Judges.
The cycle repeats again andagain and again.
Remember here's the pattern.
Number one you sin.
Number two oppression.
Number three cry for help.
Number four judge appointed.
Number five deliverance.
(05:54):
Number six peace.
And number seven sin.
Again, this cycle isn't just apattern in judges, it's a
pattern in us as well.
Sure, we repent, but if wedon't remove the temptation, if
we don't change the environment,we're probably going to fall
right back into it.
And that's exactly whathappened in my relationship.
(06:15):
I didn't set boundaries, Ididn't change anything, I let it
keep happening.
It was a terrible waste of time, energy and emotion, just like
sin.
That relationship didn't valueme.
It just waited around, readyfor me to let it back in.
Sin is like that.
It doesn't love you, it doesn'tcare about your growth, it just
(06:37):
wants you stuck in a cycle.
And when God reaches out hishand and offers deliverance,
take it and then go to work andchange your pattern.
The judges in this book weremore than just leaders To me.
They represent God's love.
Time after time, he raisedsomeone to rescue his people,
(06:59):
even though they kept fallingshort.
That's the kind of God we serve.
And you know what, my friend?
He'll do the same for you.
When you cry out, he hears you.
When you repent, he responds.
But we've got to stop goingback to the sin.
We've got to be willing tobreak the cycle.
(07:24):
I'm just so excited for thisstudy.
Yes, we kind of know what'scoming.
Israel will sin again and again, and again, but there's so much
to learn from their mistakes,from their oppression, from
their cries for help, from thesefascinating judges that God
appoints.
God fulfills his promises.
(07:46):
He shows up for his children,even in the mess, and that
includes you and me.
Let's grow together.
Let's pray.
Thank you, lord, for nevergiving up on us.
Thank you for hearing our cries, even when we've fallen into
the same cycle for the 100thtime, to the same cycle for the
(08:09):
100th time.
Lord, help us break thosepatterns.
Help us walk away from whatdoesn't value us, doesn't serve
us and doesn't glorify you.
Thank you for the stories ofjudges, for the reminders that
you raise up.
Help when we're unworthy.
Let this study stretch us,challenge us and heal us.
(08:31):
Let it change our hearts withhow we deal with life every
single day.
In Jesus' name, we pray, 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
(08:53):
so you never miss a weeklyepisode.
Also, if you feel compelled,leaving a nice review would be
so appreciated as well.
For more information or toreach out, check the show notes
or visit jessimorganhomecom orfind me on Instagram at
jessimorganlife.
Remember.
Remember.
God's timing is always perfect.
Keep trusting him until nexttime.
(09:15):
This is Jesse Morgan prayingoff.
Jesse Morgan Devotions Behindthe Scenes, starting right now.
Hello, hello and welcome backto Jesse Morgan Devotions for
the Christian Heart Behind theScenes Today.
(09:40):
No guests today, but got somethoughts for you.
Just wanted to kind of elaborateon what we're going to be
studying and kind of like what'sgoing on with me right now.
Well, I think Judges is goingto be a very interesting study
because, you know, everybodyknows Samson, everybody knows
that story.
I'm going to really obviouslydive into it.
(10:03):
I'm going to try to look at itfrom a different perspective.
I feel like scripture talks toyou differently every single
time.
So I'm excited to see what howSamson's story is going to talk
to me.
But we're going to dive intothe other judges that are not
really known as much we knowabout Gideon.
I did do a study, I did do adevotional on Gideon, so we'll
see what the differentperspective will bring this time
.
I've never studied the likeDeborah the woman judge, so I
(10:28):
think that's cool to go intothat, and there's just so many
that got appointed and they hadto deliver and they had to have
patience with people that werejust sinning over and over and
over again.
So it should be reallyinteresting to see how judges is
set up, and the last judgethat's really going to be
mentioned is um going intosamuel, which is going to be
samuel.
(10:48):
Actually, he was kind of likethe last judge before israel
decided that they wanted kings,and we know.
We go into saul and we go intodavid.
So I just think this is a greatbook, to to really like devour
and I'm excited about it.
Um, other things, you know what,when we talk about the cycle of
sin, or like the cycle ofactions that lead to sin, I'm
going to be transparent.
(11:10):
This week has been tough for me, honestly, and one of my
triggers is when somethingfinancially comes up that I
wasn't prepared for and itstresses me out.
I freak out.
I'm like, oh my gosh, where arewe going to get the money?
We don't have it, what are wedoing?
(11:31):
You know that type of thing,and I think the cycle that I
struggle with is worrying andalways thinking about where is
the next thing going to comefrom?
Like, can we afford that, canwe do this?
Like that worry, and that issuch a vicious, terrible cycle,
because you just go around andaround and around and what that
(11:54):
happens is I am sinning becauseI'm not trusting God to take
care of it, I'm being negative,I'm envying other people and
what they have, when I don't,when I worry, and then I try to
cry out to God to help me andyou know, a lot of times God
does deliver.
And then I go right back toworrying again.
It's just ridiculous.
And this week we wererenovating our bathroom and we
(12:17):
really wanted to do this for awhile.
We're so excited about it.
We had some contingency money,some blue through that, and then
something else popped up thisweek and then we had a leak in
the house, so the water bill wasthrough the roof.
So, yeah, this week I felt likeSatan was just getting at me
and that cycle of worrying wasjust kicking in.
And you know, I still don't haveall the answers, I don't know
(12:40):
how everything's going to turnout, but I've realized that I
have to put my faith in God andI have to remove the constant
that gets me worrying, and Ithink the constant that gets me
whenever I start worrying, Idon't spend enough time with God
.
I don't have my devotional inthe morning.
I have been just really worriedabout stuff for the past two
(13:02):
weeks and I haven't just doveinto my devotional like my own
devotional other than this one.
And I'm just being transparentto just show you, guys, I'm not
perfect and I fall short and Ineed to remove that block of,
like me, not making time,because God is worth every
minute, because he delivers meall the time.
(13:23):
He's taking care of us, mydaughter, everything, my husband
, our home, our families.
So how can I just not break thepattern that I have been going
on for the last two, three weeksof worry?
And I need to break thatpattern by spending time with
him again, starting my day offright, because you start your
day off right, things just cometogether right and when you do
(13:45):
have a hiccup, I just feel likeit's still.
Things work out better becauseyou already have that foundation
at the beginning of the morningwith the Lord.
So that's kind of my two centsfor this week and you know, love
you all.
God bless.
Excited for next week, we'regoing to be focusing on Judges 3
and, I believe, 4.
God bless Till next time.
(14:07):
Jessie Morgan signing off.
Hello, hello.
You're listening to the JesseMorgan Devotions for the
Christian Heart Podcast, episode51.
This week's devotional istitled the Cycle we Keep
Choosing.
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 the Cyclewe Keep Choosing, episode 51.
Hey friends, as you noticed, Idid not tell you the passage
just yet.
I'm getting ready to revealwhat we'll be studying the next
seven weeks.
Super excited.
So, anyways, welcome back tothe Jesse Morgan Devotions for
(01:27):
the Christian Heart.
I'm really excited you're herewith me today because we're
diving into a brand new series,a seven-week study that I just
mentioned through the book ofGet Ready Judges.
And before we get into it, Iwant to start with something
personal.
This episode might make myhusband cringe a little bit.
(01:53):
Not going to lie, because I'mabout to share a story from my
early 20s a relationship thatwasn't healthy, it wasn't godly
and wasn't doing any favors forme personally, and my husband
hearing that someone mistreatedme will just make him cringe.
Anyways, but this story is agreat example of the exact cycle
(02:16):
we're going to be studying inscripture.
So here's the deal.
I dated this guy in my early 20s.
He wasn't outright mean orabusive, but he didn't treat me
right.
I was never a priority.
Things would be good for liketwo or three weeks or a month,
and then poof, he'd go MIA,missing action, no phone calls,
(02:37):
no texts, nothing.
And I would spiral.
I'd start questioningeverything about myself.
Was I boring?
I start questioning everythingabout myself.
Was I boring, not pretty enough, too much, etc.
I call my girls, my best friendsLauren and Adrian, and vent.
They say things like Jess, comeon, you deserve better.
If he can't even call, what'she really doing?
(02:58):
And then there was Jonathan,one of my best guy friends and
always brutally honest.
He'd say just he's cheating,ain't no dude that busy?
So I pull myself together, cutthings off, try to move on.
Life would settle down, I'dfind some peace again, maybe go
(03:19):
on a few dates, feel good.
Then four or five months later,ding, he's text and the cycle
would just start all over again.
This on and off thing went onfor over five years.
Five years, a never endingcycle.
Why did I let it happen?
Why didn't I just cut it offfor good?
(03:42):
Because deep down I thought Icould change him.
I thought I could handle themess, manage the drama, but in
reality I just kept hurtingmyself Over and over again.
I chose that cycle and it waswrong, not just of him, but of
me too.
And that's where so many of usfind ourselves, spiritually too.
(04:03):
You see, christians fall intocycles all the time.
We sin, we get hurt, we cry outto God.
He delivers us, we feel atpeace and then we go right back
to the same sin again Soundfamiliar?
That's exactly what the book ofJudges is about.
Judges is the book that comesright after Joshua, so we're
(04:25):
picking up right where we leftoff in our last study.
The generation under Joshua hadfaith.
They conquered the promisedland.
They walked with God.
But after Joshua died at 110years old, the next generation
didn't remember what God haddone.
They forgot his miracles, theyforgot his goodness and they
just turned away.
(04:46):
So real quick, let's look atJudges 2, 10 through 11.
It says After that wholegeneration had been gathered to
their ancestors, anothergeneration grew up who neither
knew the Lord nor what he haddone for Israel.
Then the Israelites did evil inthe eyes.
Ball Judges.
(05:09):
Chapter 1 starts with morevictories, of course, but more
land conquered as well.
But by the end of the chapter,in verses 19 through 36, we see
the unraveling, tribe by tribe.
They stopped trusting God, theystopped conquering the land
they were promised and theycompromised.
And so God, righteously angry,lets the land they failed to
(05:34):
take over rise up and oppressthem.
This sets the tone for theentire book of Judges.
The cycle repeats again andagain and again.
Remember here's the pattern.
Number one you sin.
Number two oppression.
Number three cry for help.
Number four judge appointed.
Number five deliverance.
(05:54):
Number six peace.
And number seven sin.
Again, this cycle isn't just apattern in judges, it's a
pattern in us as well.
Sure, we repent, but if wedon't remove the temptation, if
we don't change the environment,we're probably going to fall
right back into it.
And that's exactly whathappened in my relationship.
(06:15):
I didn't set boundaries, Ididn't change anything, I let it
keep happening.
It was a terrible waste of time, energy and emotion, just like
sin.
That relationship didn't valueme.
It just waited around, readyfor me to let it back in.
Sin is like that.
It doesn't love you, it doesn'tcare about your growth, it just
(06:37):
wants you stuck in a cycle.
And when God reaches out hishand and offers deliverance,
take it and then go to work andchange your pattern.
The judges in this book weremore than just leaders To me.
They represent God's love.
Time after time, he raisedsomeone to rescue his people,
(06:59):
even though they kept fallingshort.
That's the kind of God we serve.
And you know what, my friend?
He'll do the same for you.
When you cry out, he hears you.
When you repent, he responds.
But we've got to stop goingback to the sin.
We've got to be willing tobreak the cycle.
(07:24):
I'm just so excited for thisstudy.
Yes, we kind of know what'scoming.
Israel will sin again and again, and again, but there's so much
to learn from their mistakes,from their oppression, from
their cries for help, from thesefascinating judges that God
appoints.
God fulfills his promises.
(07:46):
He shows up for his children,even in the mess, and that
includes you and me.
Let's grow together.
Let's pray.
Thank you, lord, for nevergiving up on us.
Thank you for hearing our cries, even when we've fallen into
the same cycle for the 100thtime, to the same cycle for the
(08:09):
100th time.
Lord, help us break thosepatterns.
Help us walk away from whatdoesn't value us, doesn't serve
us and doesn't glorify you.
Thank you for the stories ofjudges, for the reminders that
you raise up.
Help when we're unworthy.
Let this study stretch us,challenge us and heal us.
(08:31):
Let it change our hearts withhow we deal with life every
single day.
In Jesus' name, we pray, 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
(08:53):
so you never miss a weeklyepisode.
Also, if you feel compelled,leaving a nice review would be
so appreciated as well.
For more information or toreach out, check the show notes
or visit jessimorganhomecom orfind me on Instagram at
jessimorganlife.
Remember.
Remember.
God's timing is always perfect.
Keep trusting him until nexttime.
(09:15):
This is Jesse Morgan prayingoff.
Jesse Morgan Devotions Behindthe Scenes, starting right now.
Hello, hello and welcome backto Jesse Morgan Devotions for
the Christian Heart Behind theScenes Today.
(09:40):
No guests today, but got somethoughts for you.
Just wanted to kind of elaborateon what we're going to be
studying and kind of like what'sgoing on with me right now.
Well, I think Judges is goingto be a very interesting study
because, you know, everybodyknows Samson, everybody knows
that story.
I'm going to really obviouslydive into it.
(10:03):
I'm going to try to look at itfrom a different perspective.
I feel like scripture talks toyou differently every single
time.
So I'm excited to see what howSamson's story is going to talk
to me.
But we're going to dive intothe other judges that are not
really known as much we knowabout Gideon.
I did do a study, I did do adevotional on Gideon, so we'll
see what the differentperspective will bring this time
.
I've never studied the likeDeborah the woman judge, so I
(10:28):
think that's cool to go intothat, and there's just so many
that got appointed and they hadto deliver and they had to have
patience with people that werejust sinning over and over and
over again.
So it should be reallyinteresting to see how judges is
set up, and the last judgethat's really going to be
mentioned is um going intosamuel, which is going to be
samuel.
(10:48):
Actually, he was kind of likethe last judge before israel
decided that they wanted kings,and we know.
We go into saul and we go intodavid.
So I just think this is a greatbook, to to really like devour
and I'm excited about it.
Um, other things, you know what,when we talk about the cycle of
sin, or like the cycle ofactions that lead to sin, I'm
going to be transparent.
(11:10):
This week has been tough for me, honestly, and one of my
triggers is when somethingfinancially comes up that I
wasn't prepared for and itstresses me out.
I freak out.
I'm like, oh my gosh, where arewe going to get the money?
We don't have it, what are wedoing?
(11:31):
You know that type of thing,and I think the cycle that I
struggle with is worrying andalways thinking about where is
the next thing going to comefrom?
Like, can we afford that, canwe do this?
Like that worry, and that issuch a vicious, terrible cycle,
because you just go around andaround and around and what that
(11:54):
happens is I am sinning becauseI'm not trusting God to take
care of it, I'm being negative,I'm envying other people and
what they have, when I don't,when I worry, and then I try to
cry out to God to help me andyou know, a lot of times God
does deliver.
And then I go right back toworrying again.
It's just ridiculous.
And this week we wererenovating our bathroom and we
(12:17):
really wanted to do this for awhile.
We're so excited about it.
We had some contingency money,some blue through that, and then
something else popped up thisweek and then we had a leak in
the house, so the water bill wasthrough the roof.
So, yeah, this week I felt likeSatan was just getting at me
and that cycle of worrying wasjust kicking in.
And you know, I still don't haveall the answers, I don't know
(12:40):
how everything's going to turnout, but I've realized that I
have to put my faith in God andI have to remove the constant
that gets me worrying, and Ithink the constant that gets me
whenever I start worrying, Idon't spend enough time with God
.
I don't have my devotional inthe morning.
I have been just really worriedabout stuff for the past two
(13:02):
weeks and I haven't just doveinto my devotional like my own
devotional other than this one.
And I'm just being transparentto just show you, guys, I'm not
perfect and I fall short and Ineed to remove that block of,
like me, not making time,because God is worth every
minute, because he delivers meall the time.
(13:23):
He's taking care of us, mydaughter, everything, my husband
, our home, our families.
So how can I just not break thepattern that I have been going
on for the last two, three weeksof worry?
And I need to break thatpattern by spending time with
him again, starting my day offright, because you start your
day off right, things just cometogether right and when you do
(13:45):
have a hiccup, I just feel likeit's still.
Things work out better becauseyou already have that foundation
at the beginning of the morningwith the Lord.
So that's kind of my two centsfor this week and you know, love
you all.
God bless.
Excited for next week, we'regoing to be focusing on Judges 3
and, I believe, 4.
God bless Till next time.
(14:07):
Jessie Morgan signing off.
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