When God calls you first - Othniel

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Have you ever felt completely unqualified for something God was calling you to do? That's exactly what this week's devotional explores as we examine the story of Othniel, Israel's first judge.

Tucked away in less than six verses of Judges 3, Othniel's story might seem forgettable compared to the more dramatic tales of Samson or Deborah. But there's something powerful about being first—something that sets the tone for everything that follows. Othniel didn't have an impressive resume or extraordinary talents mentioned in Scripture. He was simply from Caleb's lineage, filled with God's Spirit, and willing to say yes when God called.

This devotional hits close to home as I share my own journey of obedience that led to this very podcast. 

The beautiful truth we discover is that God doesn't need your impressive background or large social media following. He simply needs your willingness to be filled with His Spirit and move when He calls. Whether you're sensing a nudge toward ministry, a new career path, or simply reaching out to someone in need, remember: "The people you're meant to touch aren't waiting on a superstar. They're waiting on you." Your calling doesn't require the spotlight—just your obedience.

Ready to embrace your own "Othniel moment"? Listen now, and discover how God qualifies the called rather than calling the qualified. Then share this message with someone who needs to hear they're enough—just as they are—for whatever God is asking them to do.

Key passage: Judges 3:1-11

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, you're listening to the Jesse Morgan
Devotions for the ChristianHeart Podcast, episode 52.
This week's devotional istitled when God Calls you First.
Study of Judges.
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 when GodCalls you First.
Episode 52, key Passages Judges3, 1-11.
Hello, hello, welcome back tothe Jesse Morgan Devotions for
the Christian Heart.
Hello, hello, welcome back tothe Jesse Morgan Devotions for

(01:27):
the Christian Heart.
We are diving into JudgesChapter 3, today or this week,
and I'm really excited to walkthrough it with you.
This week we're talking aboutthe very first judge God raised
up for Israel, othniel.
Now listen, at first I wastempted to breeze past him

(01:47):
because his story was onlymentioned in about like six
verses or less.
I was like, okay, quick mentionof Othniel, then we'll head to
Ehud, because, let's be honest,we love us.
Some Ehud stories, deborahSamson.
Some Ehud stories, deborahSamson, you name it.

(02:09):
But something made me pause.
I realized Othniel set the tone.
He may not have had the mostdetailed backstory, but he was
the first, and there's somethingpowerful about being the first.
Being the first comes withweight, with pressure, with
expectation, and I couldn't justskip over that.
Judges 3, first part of it,tells us that Israel fell into

(02:30):
sin again.
They forgot the Lord and turnedto idols, intermarrying with
other nations and totallyabandoning the foundation laid
during Joshua's time, andbecause of that, god allowed the
king of Aram to oppress themfor eight years.
The people of Israel cried outfor help and God answered.

(02:55):
He raised up Othniel to deliverthem.
Here's what stood out to me.
Othniel didn't come from somesuperstar, like resume or
achievements.
He was from the line of Caleb,not even Caleb's son, just his
lineage, younger brother per se.
And yet God chose him.

(03:15):
Scripture says Othniel wasfilled with the spirit of the
Lord and that he deliveredIsrael, in verses three, nine
through 11.
That's it, not a long list ofachievements, just two things
delivered and filled with theSpirit.
And you know what that made methink of?

(03:37):
It reminded me of Jesus, theultimate deliverer.
These judges, in a way thatwe're going to be studying, were
early shadows of Christ,temporary solutions for broken
people, pointing forward to onewho could finally and really
come eternally to deliver us toofrom sin.

(03:58):
They didn't just have eternalsalvation to offer, these judges
, but these judges were signs ofwhat was coming.
And it all started with Othniel.
So, friend, maybe you feel likeyou're not the best pick, maybe
you don't have the resume, theexperience, the numbers, the
platform, but guess what?

(04:20):
Neither did Othniel, and yetGod called him.
And now a little of my ownstory just to tie it, you know,
connect it a little bit.
Many of you know that thispodcast came from a very
personal space In 2023,.
My daughter was born at 23weeks.
For four months she was in thehospital Two surgeries, many

(04:42):
blood transfusions, infections.
It was a season I wouldn't wishon anyone.
But God met me there.
So during those long hospitaldays I threw myself into God's
word.
I did a devotional study onDaniel one day, david the next.
Just going back and forthWriting my thoughts out helped

(05:02):
me stay grounded.
I shared those notes with mymom, my dad and my Aunt Lily
every single day through a groupchat.
Then my best friends Adrian andLorna.
Then this sweet woman I met atthe hospital whose girls were
also in the NICU.
Before I knew it, I had alittle devotional text thread
list going on.

(05:23):
Eventually reading it all gothard, so I started sending voice
notes daily.
And when my daughter finallycame home in January 2024, I
felt God nudged me again Sharethis, share this.
At first I thought it would belike a blog post.
I already had a blog for homedecor, so that just made sense,

(05:46):
right.
But God kept nudging me andnudging me until I finally said,
okay, maybe it's a podcast.
Let me tell you.
I was terrified, girl wasterrified.
I was terrified, girl wasterrified.
I didn't know the first thingabout podcasting how to edit,

(06:07):
what mic to buy, where to hostit none of that.
But God gave me a timeline.
He said have your first episodeready by the time your new
sitter starts.
So, between being a full-timemom with a preemie searching for
childcare and preparing toreturn to work in May, I got to

(06:29):
work and, by God's grace, thePerfect Sitter started in April.
That gave me just enough timeto get everything set up, record
, learn the tech stuff and hitpublish by mid-May.
And here we are Now.
I know my story is a little moredrawn out than Oathneel's, but
listen, I am nobody special.

(06:50):
I don't have a massivefollowing.
I've got about 1100 followerson Instagram, my TikTok Quiet
YouTube, handful of views.
And still God called me, justlike he called Oathneel.
Oathneel didn't need thousandsof Instagram likes to qualify
for the call.
He didn't need an impressivebackground.
He just needed to say yes andbe filled with the spirit, and

(07:14):
that's my encouragement to youtoday Be your own, oathneel.
Don't wait for someone else totell you you're good enough.
Don't compare your beginning tosomeone else's middle.
You don't need the spotlight towalk in your purpose.
Social media is a tool, not adefinition of your worth.
You are not too small.

(07:35):
You are not too late.
You are not unqualified.
If God is nudging your heart,move, because the people you're
meant to touch aren't waiting ona superstar.
They're waiting on you.
So take that step, be obedientand let God do the rest.
Let's pray, heavenly Father.

(07:58):
Thank you for calling us, evenwhen we feel unqualified.
Thank you for the reminder thatyou use ordinary people to do
extraordinary things, just likeOthniel, helping us to be.
Help us to be willing, help usto be filled with your spirit,
help us to trust that you areenough when we feel like we're
not.
Thank you for every listenertuning in today.

(08:22):
Lord, bless them, guide them,strengthen them to be their own,
othniel, in the places you'veassigned them.
Lord, we love you and we praiseyou in Jesus' name.
Amen, love you all Till nexttime.
Well, that wraps up this week'sepisode.
I hope these devotions help youdraw closer to God each day.

(08:44):
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
so appreciated as well.
For more information or toreach out, check the show notes
or visit jessimorganhomecom orfind me on Instagram at

(09:06):
jessimorganlife.
Remember God's timing is alwaysperfect.
Keep trusting him Until nexttime.
This is Jessi Morgan praying on.
Jessi Morgan Devotions behindthe scenes starting right now.
Hey, hey, what's up?

(09:30):
Everyone Another behind thescenes just to reflect a little
bit and just share some things.
I will say.
This week's devotional Istruggled.
This week's devotional, Istruggled, I struggled to get it

(09:55):
done.
I struggled with the topic athand and I'm telling you it was
just, I was really having atough time.
I didn't know what to talkabout, how to describe Oath Neil
, how to deal with this firstjudge, and I was close to being
like, oh my gosh, maybe I justdon't do a podcast episode this
week, because I just don't wantto do something that's not
authentic and real.
And I was like Lord, I needhelp.

(10:22):
And you know what?
I had to just get a lot ofinspiration from looking at some
of the key themes and topics ofboth Neil's story.
I called my parents and Ididn't tell them that I was
struggling, I just told them.
I just asked them a questionwhat inspires you, mom, and

(10:42):
who's the?
You just things, and and justto get some juices flowing a
little bit, because my parentsare just always so inspirational
, my dad as well.
It's just been a week of a lotgoing on in our family and we
have been.
Satan has really tried me andmy husband this week and you

(11:04):
know, this past, like seven dayshas been very trying and it's
just had a lot of my plate withwork.
Work has been a lot of stressNot all terrible, but you know
just a lot going on and I justhave had so much on my plate
that I have like I just was notfocused enough.

(11:25):
I just wasn't inspired at firstwith this devotional this
week's, and literally within the11th hour, it's like I just sat
down and I just prayed about itand God came to me and
literally this podcast was donein the 11th hour.
But you know what I'm so proudof it.
I'm so proud of it because youknow what it really speaks to me

(11:48):
too and I realized that I'mgood enough.
I'm good enough.
God nudged me to go for it.
I'm going to go for it.
I'm good enough and I reallyneed to stop letting other
people tell me that I'm goodenough to do something.
I think in my previous years andprevious days in my career, I
used to wait for people to tellme to go apply for something,

(12:09):
and now I'm like, no, I need toapply, I'm good enough and God's
going to bless me.
Let me pray to God, Let me gethis blessing on it, let me get
his take on it, let me study theword, Let me figure it out, and
if all points, all things arepointing towards me to move
forward with something, I'mgoing to do it because God
believes I can.
I am my own Othniel, you know.

(12:29):
So I encourage you with that.
Having a tough week, you'requestioning yourself.
Make sure that you sit in frontof the Lord and spend time with
God, and then you'll know yourworth, not somebody else, not a
system, not a job, you know.
So just encourage you with that.
Love you all, till next time.
Bye, thank you.