May 29, 2025 • 18 mins
Text if you need me? Prayer or just need encouragement…
Have you ever watched someone step into leadership with all the wrong motivations? The catastrophic results can be both predictable and painful to witness.
This week, I'm sharing a particularly personal devotional that weaves together my experience with an ego-driven retail manager and the shocking biblical account of Abimelech from Judges 9. What happens when someone claims authority because of who they know rather than who they serve? When they prioritize status over stewardship?
As we examine both stories, we're confronted with challenging questions about our own leadership motivations: Have we ever stepped into roles thinking we didn't need to grow or listen? Have we dismissed those God placed in our path to help us?
Whether you're leading a team, a family, or simply navigating your own path, this devotional will challenge you to examine the difference between self-appointment and divine anointing. Subscribe, share with others who might need this message, and join the conversation about what authentic, God-honoring leadership looks like in our everyday lives.
Check out show notes for application questions & written devotion for the week!
Key Passages: Judges 8:30-Judges 9
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Website: www.jessimorganhome.com/devotions
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Podcast Music by: prazkhanal
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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, episode56.
This week's devotional istitled when you Think you Are
the Chosen One, 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 youthink you are the chosen one.
Hey, everyone, welcome back tothe podcast.
Today's episode, as I said, istitled when you think you are
the chosen one.
Let's just say this one's alittle personal.
Again, I wanted to share astory that, years later, still
(01:30):
sticks with me.
It's about a former co-workerand what happened with him
reminded me of one of thewildest stories in the book of
years ago.
Let me start off with my story,but then we'll go into judges
(01:50):
chapter.
Nine Years ago I was anassistant store manager at
Macy's and I was running a $24million beauty business in the
second largest store in thecountry.
I was about six or seven monthsto the role when we got a new
assistant store manager overwomen's shoes and center core.
Center core is considered inretail or in this department
(02:15):
store as jewelry, handbags andaccessories.
And just to have context, sincethis was like the second
biggest store in the country forMacy's, you had a senior store
manager.
You had a junior store managerthat ran the home building,
which was on the opposite sideof the fashion building, because
we had a fashion building and ahome building and the home
building obviously had home andkids and like furniture and then
(02:39):
the fashion building hadeverything else and within those
two buildings, I said you hadtwo store managers and you had
four assistant store managersbecause we were just so big, and
so we had somebody runningmen's, we had somebody running
beauty and active wear, somebodyrunning women's clothing and
(02:59):
then someone running like centercore.
So that's just to understand,like the context of everything.
So, like I said, we gainedanother assistant store manager
for center core.
So that's just to understand,like the context of everything.
So, like I said, we gainedanother assistant store manager
for center core, which was veryexciting Always cool to have new
people in the building.
But this guy, he came in brandnew to this level of leadership
(03:20):
but acting like he was God'sgift to Macy's, but acted like
he was God's gift to Macy's.
Our store manager asked me tocoach him and guide him on
managing his team.
His response he said to me whyare you so good at coaching?
Anyway?
Coaching is all aboutaccountability.
My managers just need to know Imean business Phew.
And I responded like this Well,my coaching is backed by
(03:46):
results double-digit increasesin sales and customer experience
.
My team feels valued and that'swhy I was asked to help you.
Have you ever managed sevenpeople or seven managers before?
Because I have, even beforethis role.
And then he hits me with.
(04:07):
It's not that hard.
With our title.
I'll ask for help if I need it,but honestly I probably won't.
I'm here because I've known thebig boss for years.
He likes how I work and justlike that he walked out of my
office no desire to learn, nocuriosity about the team or the
process, just confidence rootedin his connection to our big
(04:31):
boss.
And from day one he led from aplace of literally pride and no
purpose.
He blamed others when thingswent wrong stockroom issues, bad
customer experience, scores,poor sales and get this.
He even fired a strong managerthat many of us respected.
But it was clear he feltthreatened.
(04:53):
He built a culture of fear,favoritism and confusion.
He never cast vision, he justdictated.
I remember watching the teamsuffer under his leadership.
It was like watching a shipsink in slow motion.
When a big corporate visit cameup, our boss again asked me and
(05:13):
another peer to help him prepare.
We gave him all the tips andtricks and feedback we could,
but he didn't take it seriously.
The day of the visit it was adisaster Managers, unprepared
operations, a mess.
It was hard to watch.
Honestly, the visit ended withhim awkwardly observing our
(05:35):
presentations because theywanted him to watch our
presentations and still he wasstill trying to make excuses.
Two weeks later he was demoted.
Of course he claimed it was forpersonal reasons he was leaving
the role, but we all knew thetruth.
Well, I did For sure.
After he left, we were told toclean up the mess, literally.
(05:58):
I spent an entire week inwomen's shoes, fixing problems
that should have never beenallowed to spiral in the first
place.
The stockroom was chaos,mismates everywhere, shoes
missing their partners.
A manager who had been clearlyfavored was off every holiday
and most weekends.
I was exhausted and frustrated,not for me, but for the team
(06:22):
who had been under poorleadership and guidance for that
long.
He was acting like he was thechosen but never did the work to
actually lead.
It's just so crazy how thisstory reminds me so much of
Judges, chapter 9.
Up until this point, we've beenreading about judges, right
(06:45):
Leaders sent and filled with thespirit of the Lord to deliver
Israel, but Abimelech, he's notlike the others.
Let's back up to Judges 8, 30through 31 first before we jump
into chapter 9.
It says In Judges 9-2, as wesee, abimelech goes to his
(07:17):
mother's family and says Ask allthe citizens of Shechem, which
is better for you to have all 70of Jeroboam's sons rule over
you or just one man?
Remember, I am your flesh andblood.
So, basically, abimelech playsthe family card.
He doesn't seek God, he doesn'tget anointed, he uses
(07:40):
manipulation and relationshipsto get into power.
Sound familiar.
He convinces the people ofShechem to fund his rise using
silver from a pagan temple,hires a crew of mercenaries and
murderers, basically, andmurders 70 of his half-brothers,
(08:01):
gideon's sons, Jeroboam just soyou know, in context, jeroboam
is Gideon, so let's just getthat out of the way.
So I'm going to keep referringto Jeroboam as Gideon, I'm going
to keep saying Gideon goingforward, but anyways.
So let's just back up a littlebit again.
So Abimelech convinces thepeople of Shechem to fund his
(08:23):
rise using silver from a pagantemple, hires a crew of
mercenaries and murders 70 ofhis half-brothers, which are
Gideon's sons, one on one stone,all to eliminate the
competition.
He's then crowned king, not byGod but by man.
For three years he rules andthen God steps in and God
(08:49):
literally sets a spirit ofdiscord that spreads between him
and the people of Shechem.
They rebel and in return heburns the city's leaders alive
in a tower.
Then he tries to do the samething in another town called
Tebez, but a woman drops amillstone on his head
(09:12):
Interesting story, right,mortally he's like, mortally
wounded.
Mortally he's like mortallywounded.
And he begs his armored barrierto kill him because he can't
stand the thought of dying by awoman's hand.
And they kill him.
That's how consumed he was withhis ego that he had somebody
else kill him.
He was wounded, I mean, maybehe could have lived, but he
(09:37):
didn't, he.
He, I guess, guess he knew hewas really wounded and he was
like oh no, I cannot be known asbeing killed by a woman.
So he basically made somebodyelse kill him, a man, so it
wouldn't be by a woman.
My goodness, what an ego.
And you know what you can't.
And, reflecting on all this, youcan't walk into leadership just
(10:02):
because you feel chosen or knowsomeone in power.
A feeling is a feeling.
A feeling that you have is howyou feel, absolutely, but it
doesn't mean that it's the truth, it doesn't mean that it's the
reality.
Let's just call it what it is.
You've got to walk in purpose,not feeling all the time.
(10:25):
You have to walk in purpose andcalling and humility.
Okay, my coworker didn'tappoint himself, but he acted
like he'd already earned thecrown simply because of who he
knew.
He skipped the part where youactually learn, where you build
(10:45):
trust, where you serve as aleader, and just like that and
just like you know Abimelech,his reign was short and chaotic.
You know?
Here's some like just questionsfor you to think about this week
.
Think of the first one.
Have you ever stepped into arole thinking I didn't need to
(11:06):
grow or listen, I have gonethrough that before.
What does healthy, god-honoringleadership look like in your
life?
Have you ever dismissed someoneGod placed in your path to help
you?
Those are just questions that Ireally gathered this week and
(11:29):
I've had to reflect on too,because sometimes you just think
that you have all the answersand you don't, and that's okay.
And even if you're a leader andyou don't know everything, being
more vulnerable and transparentwith the people that you're
leading is going to go muchfurther along the way, and I
(11:50):
think God is just an amazingfather and we know this, but
he's also a really great leader,and God was very transparent
when he was angry, when he washurt by his people, and I think
that's one of the amazing traitsof God, of Jesus Christ is the
transparency and owning it whenyou're wrong and just wanting to
(12:15):
learn and be better.
So I encourage you to reallythink about that.
And I just find it so amazingthat Judges is set up the way it
is and then the story ofAbimelech is just kind of thrown
in there and I find it very,very interesting.
So hopefully you got a lot outof it.
This weekch is just kind ofthrown in there and I find it
very, very interesting, sohopefully you got a lot out of
(12:35):
it this week.
It's kind of like we did alittle detour from the regular
devotionals, focusing on adeliverer for Israel, and I hope
you enjoyed it this week andhope you are encouraged this
week.
If you're going through a toughtime with leading somebody or
leading others or someone'sleading, you be encouraged and
hopefully this story gave you alittle bit of that.
(12:57):
Love you all.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I thank you somuch for this study.
I thank you so much foreverything that you have
provided for us with the book ofJudges so far.
Thank you for the reminder thatreal leadership comes from you,
not from status, not fromrelationships and definitely not
(13:20):
from ego.
Lord, keep us humble, help uslead with integrity, compassion
and vision.
Show us where we've let prideget in the way of purpose.
We don't want to appointourselves.
We want to be anointed by you.
May we never manipulate our wayinto a role you haven't called
(13:43):
us to.
Instead, lord, help us to servefaithfully wherever you've
placed us.
Lord, we love you and we praiseyou.
Thank you so much for thisstudy of judges.
In Jesus' name, amen, till nexttime.
Well, that wraps up this week'sepisode.
I hope these devotions help youdraw closer to God each day.
(14:05):
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
(14:27):
jessimorganlife.
Remember God's timing is alwaysperfect.
Keep trusting him Until nexttime.
This is Jesse Morgan prayingoff.
Jesse Morgan Devotions Behindthe Scenes, starting right now.
Welcome back to Jesse MorganBehind the Scenes.
(14:53):
Thank you for being here.
I just so again just reallyappreciate all the love and
support for this podcast andthis recent study of judges has
just been has really beeneye-opening for me.
So hopefully it's beeneye-opening for you.
So I just wanted to touch ontoday really quick.
It just blew my mind, the storyof Abimelech.
I kind of like just course I'mreading the book and I kind of
(15:15):
stumbled on it a little bit,versus just jumping right to the
next set of judges.
I was like no, I got todedicate a whole episode to this
person.
I view the Abimelech story,which is basically all of Judges
9, mind you, it takes a wholechapter in the book of Judges.
And what blows my mind is allthe other judges, all the judges
(15:39):
that we study or we're going tostudy in this book.
They were appointed by God.
They were appointed by God.
They were filled with thespirit to deliver Israel from
being oppressed, right, butAbimelech just took it upon
himself to appoint himself andmake himself a king.
That's something that none ofthe judges wanted to be, never
(16:01):
were, because, remember, israelwas.
They didn't have a king, theyhad a God.
They had God.
That's who was, you know, theleader and the judges were like
regionals.
The judges were, you know, theyworked for the Lord, and it was
(16:22):
just so interesting to me howAbimelech just took it upon
himself to just go and declarehimself a king and kill his
family members to make sure thathe gets what he wants.
So he's willing to throwanybody under the bus to get
what he wants.
And so I just wanted to comeback to the title of this
devotional again and just sayyou are just, just, you know,
(16:45):
kind of ad-lib that title again,and just to let people know,
like, sometimes you're not thechosen one, sometimes you're not
the chosen one and as much asyou want something so bad that
might not be what God has instore for you and you can't be
jealous of that, you can't envywhat someone else has.
But you can pray to God andwork really hard and serve the
(17:10):
Lord to find out what God wantsyou to do, not for you to just
take something and throw peopleunder the bus to get what you
want.
You're not God.
Who are you?
So it was just blow, it blew mymind this week of how this, this
book, this chapter, was justthrown into the midst of all the
(17:32):
good and all the things thatjudges that these judges were
doing.
So I just um, I just found itto be such a blessing, you know
and I just encourage you guysand everybody you know bad
leadership exists.
Don't be part of it.
Don't be part of it.
You know there's such.
There's so much more when youlead properly, when you respect
(17:52):
your leadership and things likethat.
God's going to bless you.
So that's all for now.
Take care and see you next weekwe will continue our study of
judges.
Amen, god bless.
Hello, hello.
You're listening to the JesseMorgan Devotions for the
Christian Heart Podcast, episode56.
This week's devotional istitled when you Think you Are
the Chosen One, 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 youthink you are the chosen one.
Hey, everyone, welcome back tothe podcast.
Today's episode, as I said, istitled when you think you are
the chosen one.
Let's just say this one's alittle personal.
Again, I wanted to share astory that, years later, still
(01:30):
sticks with me.
It's about a former co-workerand what happened with him
reminded me of one of thewildest stories in the book of
years ago.
Let me start off with my story,but then we'll go into judges
(01:50):
chapter.
Nine Years ago I was anassistant store manager at
Macy's and I was running a $24million beauty business in the
second largest store in thecountry.
I was about six or seven monthsto the role when we got a new
assistant store manager overwomen's shoes and center core.
Center core is considered inretail or in this department
(02:15):
store as jewelry, handbags andaccessories.
And just to have context, sincethis was like the second
biggest store in the country forMacy's, you had a senior store
manager.
You had a junior store managerthat ran the home building,
which was on the opposite sideof the fashion building, because
we had a fashion building and ahome building and the home
building obviously had home andkids and like furniture and then
(02:39):
the fashion building hadeverything else and within those
two buildings, I said you hadtwo store managers and you had
four assistant store managersbecause we were just so big, and
so we had somebody runningmen's, we had somebody running
beauty and active wear, somebodyrunning women's clothing and
(02:59):
then someone running like centercore.
So that's just to understand,like the context of everything.
So, like I said, we gainedanother assistant store manager
for center core.
So that's just to understand,like the context of everything.
So, like I said, we gainedanother assistant store manager
for center core, which was veryexciting Always cool to have new
people in the building.
But this guy, he came in brandnew to this level of leadership
(03:20):
but acting like he was God'sgift to Macy's, but acted like
he was God's gift to Macy's.
Our store manager asked me tocoach him and guide him on
managing his team.
His response he said to me whyare you so good at coaching?
Anyway?
Coaching is all aboutaccountability.
My managers just need to know Imean business Phew.
And I responded like this Well,my coaching is backed by
(03:46):
results double-digit increasesin sales and customer experience
.
My team feels valued and that'swhy I was asked to help you.
Have you ever managed sevenpeople or seven managers before?
Because I have, even beforethis role.
And then he hits me with.
(04:07):
It's not that hard.
With our title.
I'll ask for help if I need it,but honestly I probably won't.
I'm here because I've known thebig boss for years.
He likes how I work and justlike that he walked out of my
office no desire to learn, nocuriosity about the team or the
process, just confidence rootedin his connection to our big
(04:31):
boss.
And from day one he led from aplace of literally pride and no
purpose.
He blamed others when thingswent wrong stockroom issues, bad
customer experience, scores,poor sales and get this.
He even fired a strong managerthat many of us respected.
But it was clear he feltthreatened.
(04:53):
He built a culture of fear,favoritism and confusion.
He never cast vision, he justdictated.
I remember watching the teamsuffer under his leadership.
It was like watching a shipsink in slow motion.
When a big corporate visit cameup, our boss again asked me and
(05:13):
another peer to help him prepare.
We gave him all the tips andtricks and feedback we could,
but he didn't take it seriously.
The day of the visit it was adisaster Managers, unprepared
operations, a mess.
It was hard to watch.
Honestly, the visit ended withhim awkwardly observing our
(05:35):
presentations because theywanted him to watch our
presentations and still he wasstill trying to make excuses.
Two weeks later he was demoted.
Of course he claimed it was forpersonal reasons he was leaving
the role, but we all knew thetruth.
Well, I did For sure.
After he left, we were told toclean up the mess, literally.
(05:58):
I spent an entire week inwomen's shoes, fixing problems
that should have never beenallowed to spiral in the first
place.
The stockroom was chaos,mismates everywhere, shoes
missing their partners.
A manager who had been clearlyfavored was off every holiday
and most weekends.
I was exhausted and frustrated,not for me, but for the team
(06:22):
who had been under poorleadership and guidance for that
long.
He was acting like he was thechosen but never did the work to
actually lead.
It's just so crazy how thisstory reminds me so much of
Judges, chapter 9.
Up until this point, we've beenreading about judges, right
(06:45):
Leaders sent and filled with thespirit of the Lord to deliver
Israel, but Abimelech, he's notlike the others.
Let's back up to Judges 8, 30through 31 first before we jump
into chapter 9.
It says In Judges 9-2, as wesee, abimelech goes to his
(07:17):
mother's family and says Ask allthe citizens of Shechem, which
is better for you to have all 70of Jeroboam's sons rule over
you or just one man?
Remember, I am your flesh andblood.
So, basically, abimelech playsthe family card.
He doesn't seek God, he doesn'tget anointed, he uses
(07:40):
manipulation and relationshipsto get into power.
Sound familiar.
He convinces the people ofShechem to fund his rise using
silver from a pagan temple,hires a crew of mercenaries and
murderers, basically, andmurders 70 of his half-brothers,
(08:01):
gideon's sons, Jeroboam just soyou know, in context, jeroboam
is Gideon, so let's just getthat out of the way.
So I'm going to keep referringto Jeroboam as Gideon, I'm going
to keep saying Gideon goingforward, but anyways.
So let's just back up a littlebit again.
So Abimelech convinces thepeople of Shechem to fund his
(08:23):
rise using silver from a pagantemple, hires a crew of
mercenaries and murders 70 ofhis half-brothers, which are
Gideon's sons, one on one stone,all to eliminate the
competition.
He's then crowned king, not byGod but by man.
For three years he rules andthen God steps in and God
(08:49):
literally sets a spirit ofdiscord that spreads between him
and the people of Shechem.
They rebel and in return heburns the city's leaders alive
in a tower.
Then he tries to do the samething in another town called
Tebez, but a woman drops amillstone on his head
(09:12):
Interesting story, right,mortally he's like, mortally
wounded.
Mortally he's like mortallywounded.
And he begs his armored barrierto kill him because he can't
stand the thought of dying by awoman's hand.
And they kill him.
That's how consumed he was withhis ego that he had somebody
else kill him.
He was wounded, I mean, maybehe could have lived, but he
(09:37):
didn't, he.
He, I guess, guess he knew hewas really wounded and he was
like oh no, I cannot be known asbeing killed by a woman.
So he basically made somebodyelse kill him, a man, so it
wouldn't be by a woman.
My goodness, what an ego.
And you know what you can't.
And, reflecting on all this, youcan't walk into leadership just
(10:02):
because you feel chosen or knowsomeone in power.
A feeling is a feeling.
A feeling that you have is howyou feel, absolutely, but it
doesn't mean that it's the truth, it doesn't mean that it's the
reality.
Let's just call it what it is.
You've got to walk in purpose,not feeling all the time.
(10:25):
You have to walk in purpose andcalling and humility.
Okay, my coworker didn'tappoint himself, but he acted
like he'd already earned thecrown simply because of who he
knew.
He skipped the part where youactually learn, where you build
(10:45):
trust, where you serve as aleader, and just like that and
just like you know Abimelech,his reign was short and chaotic.
You know?
Here's some like just questionsfor you to think about this week
.
Think of the first one.
Have you ever stepped into arole thinking I didn't need to
(11:06):
grow or listen, I have gonethrough that before.
What does healthy, god-honoringleadership look like in your
life?
Have you ever dismissed someoneGod placed in your path to help
you?
Those are just questions that Ireally gathered this week and
(11:29):
I've had to reflect on too,because sometimes you just think
that you have all the answersand you don't, and that's okay.
And even if you're a leader andyou don't know everything, being
more vulnerable and transparentwith the people that you're
leading is going to go muchfurther along the way, and I
(11:50):
think God is just an amazingfather and we know this, but
he's also a really great leader,and God was very transparent
when he was angry, when he washurt by his people, and I think
that's one of the amazing traitsof God, of Jesus Christ is the
transparency and owning it whenyou're wrong and just wanting to
(12:15):
learn and be better.
So I encourage you to reallythink about that.
And I just find it so amazingthat Judges is set up the way it
is and then the story ofAbimelech is just kind of thrown
in there and I find it very,very interesting.
So hopefully you got a lot outof it.
This weekch is just kind ofthrown in there and I find it
very, very interesting, sohopefully you got a lot out of
(12:35):
it this week.
It's kind of like we did alittle detour from the regular
devotionals, focusing on adeliverer for Israel, and I hope
you enjoyed it this week andhope you are encouraged this
week.
If you're going through a toughtime with leading somebody or
leading others or someone'sleading, you be encouraged and
hopefully this story gave you alittle bit of that.
(12:57):
Love you all.
Let's pray.
Heavenly Father, I thank you somuch for this study.
I thank you so much foreverything that you have
provided for us with the book ofJudges so far.
Thank you for the reminder thatreal leadership comes from you,
not from status, not fromrelationships and definitely not
(13:20):
from ego.
Lord, keep us humble, help uslead with integrity, compassion
and vision.
Show us where we've let prideget in the way of purpose.
We don't want to appointourselves.
We want to be anointed by you.
May we never manipulate our wayinto a role you haven't called
(13:43):
us to.
Instead, lord, help us to servefaithfully wherever you've
placed us.
Lord, we love you and we praiseyou.
Thank you so much for thisstudy of judges.
In Jesus' name, amen, till nexttime.
Well, that wraps up this week'sepisode.
I hope these devotions help youdraw closer to God each day.
(14:05):
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
(14:27):
jessimorganlife.
Remember God's timing is alwaysperfect.
Keep trusting him Until nexttime.
This is Jesse Morgan prayingoff.
Jesse Morgan Devotions Behindthe Scenes, starting right now.
Welcome back to Jesse MorganBehind the Scenes.
(14:53):
Thank you for being here.
I just so again just reallyappreciate all the love and
support for this podcast andthis recent study of judges has
just been has really beeneye-opening for me.
So hopefully it's beeneye-opening for you.
So I just wanted to touch ontoday really quick.
It just blew my mind, the storyof Abimelech.
I kind of like just course I'mreading the book and I kind of
(15:15):
stumbled on it a little bit,versus just jumping right to the
next set of judges.
I was like no, I got todedicate a whole episode to this
person.
I view the Abimelech story,which is basically all of Judges
9, mind you, it takes a wholechapter in the book of Judges.
And what blows my mind is allthe other judges, all the judges
(15:39):
that we study or we're going tostudy in this book.
They were appointed by God.
They were appointed by God.
They were filled with thespirit to deliver Israel from
being oppressed, right, butAbimelech just took it upon
himself to appoint himself andmake himself a king.
That's something that none ofthe judges wanted to be, never
(16:01):
were, because, remember, israelwas.
They didn't have a king, theyhad a God.
They had God.
That's who was, you know, theleader and the judges were like
regionals.
The judges were, you know, theyworked for the Lord, and it was
(16:22):
just so interesting to me howAbimelech just took it upon
himself to just go and declarehimself a king and kill his
family members to make sure thathe gets what he wants.
So he's willing to throwanybody under the bus to get
what he wants.
And so I just wanted to comeback to the title of this
devotional again and just sayyou are just, just, you know,
(16:45):
kind of ad-lib that title again,and just to let people know,
like, sometimes you're not thechosen one, sometimes you're not
the chosen one and as much asyou want something so bad that
might not be what God has instore for you and you can't be
jealous of that, you can't envywhat someone else has.
But you can pray to God andwork really hard and serve the
(17:10):
Lord to find out what God wantsyou to do, not for you to just
take something and throw peopleunder the bus to get what you
want.
You're not God.
Who are you?
So it was just blow, it blew mymind this week of how this, this
book, this chapter, was justthrown into the midst of all the
(17:32):
good and all the things thatjudges that these judges were
doing.
So I just um, I just found itto be such a blessing, you know
and I just encourage you guysand everybody you know bad
leadership exists.
Don't be part of it.
Don't be part of it.
You know there's such.
There's so much more when youlead properly, when you respect
(17:52):
your leadership and things likethat.
God's going to bless you.
So that's all for now.
Take care and see you next weekwe will continue our study of
judges.
Amen, god bless.
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