Latest / Jessi Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast / When Jealously Steals Your Joy: Spirit of Comparision

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When Jealously Steals Your Joy: Spirit of Comparision · Jessi Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast

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  SPEAKER_00: Hello, hello, you're listening to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast episode 72.
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  SPEAKER_00: This week's devotional is titled When Jealousy Steals Your Joy, Saul, David, and the Spirit of Comparison.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Hi, I'm Jesse Morgan.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: I used to just share home decor and renovation tips on social media, but now I'm sharing something even closer to my heart.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: My journey in love for Jesus Christ, my savior.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Hawk Podcast.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: This is a weekly devotional I started back in May 2024, but the inspiration for it came much earlier.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was rooted in a faith journey that began when my daughter was born four months early in 2023.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Through that challenging time, God worked in ways that truly amazed me.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: On this podcast, I share personal stories of faith woven together with Scripture to show just how incredible God's word can be in our everyday lives.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: My hope is that through these stories, you'll be encouraged, uplifted, and reminded of God's love and presence, no matter what you're going through.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I invite you to spend less than 15 minutes with me each week as we reflect on these devotionals together.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Let's all pray within.
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  SPEAKER_00: When jealousy steals your joy, Saul, David, and the Spirit of Comparison.
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  SPEAKER_00: Key passages, 1 Samuel 17, 55 through chapter 18, 30.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Hey friends, welcome back to Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad you're here today because this week we're diving into one of the most powerful pivot points in the Bible, I feel, the shift between Saul and David.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's a story that shows what happens when jealousy sneaks in, when comparison takes over, and when we let insecurities guide our hearts instead of God's spirit.
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  SPEAKER_00: And what's amazing is this story is as relevant now as it was thousands of years ago.
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  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's in the workplace, our relationships, or even scrolling social media, this same battle still happens today.
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  SPEAKER_00: So let's dig in.
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  SPEAKER_00: So we're in 1 Samuel chapter 17 and 18, right after David defeats Goliath.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now this was not just a battle, it was the turning point for Israel.
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  SPEAKER_00: David, this young shepherd boy, walks out with nothing but a sling and faith and takes down a giant that terrified an entire army.
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  SPEAKER_00: So when Goliath fell, scripture says the Philistines fled and Israel chased them down.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was a massive, undeniable victory, and suddenly David's name was on everybody's lips.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saul, the king, was amazed, and he asked, Whose son is this?
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  SPEAKER_00: And when he found out David was the son of Jesse, he brought him into his court.
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  SPEAKER_00: And scripture says Saul never let him return home again.
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  SPEAKER_00: At first, Saul loved David.
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  SPEAKER_00: David became the commander of his army, he played the harp for Saul.
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  SPEAKER_00: When that tormenting spirit would come upon him, he was loyal, humble, brave, and he was favored by God.
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  SPEAKER_00: But then something shifted.
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  SPEAKER_00: After one of those great victories, or basically that main victory after Goliath was killed, the army was coming back into the city, and the women came out dancing and singing and celebrating.
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  SPEAKER_00: And they said, and they sang, Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in that moment, jealousy was born.
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  SPEAKER_00: You could almost feel Saul's heart hardened from the words on the page of the Bible.
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  SPEAKER_00: Scripture says he kept a jealous eye on David from that day forward.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's incredible, isn't it?
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  SPEAKER_00: Like one line, one moment of comparison, and suddenly a relationship changes forever.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saul's jealousy grew so deep, it consumed him.
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  SPEAKER_00: He began plotting to kill David, even though David had done nothing wrong.
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  SPEAKER_00: Every time David succeeded, God's Saul's envy just got worse.
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  SPEAKER_00: But here's what's wild David never changed his his you know his stance.
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  SPEAKER_00: He kept serving Saul, he kept showing up.
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  SPEAKER_00: He even played music for the very man trying to destroy him.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: And as David's favor grew, Saul's peace disappeared because God's spirit lifted from Saul and he tried to fill that emphasis with control and being just king.
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  SPEAKER_00: And that's what jealousy does.
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  SPEAKER_00: It blinds you, it convinces you that someone else's blessing is somehow taking your own.
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  SPEAKER_00: But God's favor isn't like a isn't just like a pie.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's not limited.
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  SPEAKER_00: He can bless both Saul and David.
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  SPEAKER_00: But Saul couldn't see that anymore.
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  SPEAKER_00: His eyes were on David instead of on God.
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  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, we've all been there, haven't we?
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  SPEAKER_00: Maybe not to Saul's level, but moments where we saw someone succeed, and instead of celebrating them, something in us felt it felt small.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's the same route.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's how jealousy starts.
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  SPEAKER_00: You know, I had my own Saul and David moment years ago when I first started at Macy's.
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  SPEAKER_00: I was a merchandise manager at the Daydeland store, number two in the company, still is.
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  SPEAKER_00: I ran one half of the women's collections floor, while the other manager oversaw the contemporary swim side of the floor.
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  SPEAKER_00: At first, she was kind.
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  SPEAKER_00: Um, she trained me, she showed me the ropes, the one that was on the other side, contemporary swim.
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  SPEAKER_00: But once I started finding my rhythm, getting good feedback, things shifted.
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  SPEAKER_00: I was becoming very good at this job, and it just felt like things just changed.
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  SPEAKER_00: One day I walked into my floor and realized she had taken two fixtures and left my area empty with clothes hanging over bars and on the register.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was just a mess.
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  SPEAKER_00: When I asked her about it, she said, Oh, I needed them for swim and she brushed me off.
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  SPEAKER_00: And I then responded saying, Next time you need a fixture, ask first, please.
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  SPEAKER_00: From that moment, the wall went up.
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  SPEAKER_00: She grew cold, critical, dismissive.
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  SPEAKER_00: She talked behind my back.
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  SPEAKER_00: Anytime I received a compliment, she would come to me and try to redirect me and criticize.
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  SPEAKER_00: Fast forward to a few months later.
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  SPEAKER_00: Um, she went in, she went on vacation, and right before leaving, she sent me an email, CCing our boss, saying, Hey Jess, I know you'll be covering my floor while I'm gone.
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  SPEAKER_00: Just FYI.
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  SPEAKER_00: Next week we have a huge corporate visit from New York.
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  SPEAKER_00: The buyers, regionals, everyone's coming.
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  SPEAKER_00: I expect the floor to be perfect and the markdowns complete at 90% at least.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for your partnership.
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  SPEAKER_00: So when I got that email, she never told me she was going on vacation.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: I found out through an email.
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  SPEAKER_00: Y'all, she left me with about 3,000 markdown units and a disaster of a floor.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: And to make sure you understand what I meant by markdowns, I mean the price of something being permanently marked down.
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  SPEAKER_00: So we had to scan the item, print a ticket with the new markdown price, and cover the old price, or you know, cover the price tag with the new markdown price.
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  SPEAKER_00: One by one.
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  SPEAKER_00: When I walked into that swim section, I was speechless.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was dirty.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't just it wasn't dirty per se, it was disorganized.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Let me just be clear.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was not dirty, it was disorganized.
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  SPEAKER_00: No rhyme, no reason.
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  SPEAKER_00: Becca swim was mixed with Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein was mixed with Rolf Lauren's swim, you name it.
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  SPEAKER_00: One fixture was meant for all cover-ups, and and it had 30 random pieces from 10 different brands.
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  SPEAKER_00: It was chaos.
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  SPEAKER_00: Like, how could a customer shop this?
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  SPEAKER_00: The department manager, Ashley, I love you, shout out.
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  SPEAKER_00: We still talk to this day.
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  SPEAKER_00: Um, Ashley came over and said, Jess, I've tried my best, but this but this side of the business is rough.
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  SPEAKER_00: Nothing's where it belongs.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's really hard to recover.
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  SPEAKER_00: So I called my ops manager for help.
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  SPEAKER_00: She sent two people and we spent the entire day from 8 a.m.
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  SPEAKER_00: to 4:30 p.m.
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  SPEAKER_00: marking down thousands of items.
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  SPEAKER_00: I stayed until 6 that night, exhausted.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's when our assistant ops manager, Betty, came by and said, You are still here?
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  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Yes, there's so many missed markdowns from weeks ago.
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  SPEAKER_00: I gotta clean this up for the visit.
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  SPEAKER_00: Then she said to me, Jessica, you know, I gotta be honest.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: She has been bad mouthing you to leadership for weeks, but they're starting to see the truth.
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  SPEAKER_00: You're thriving, it's making her uncomfortable.
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  SPEAKER_00: But I see your heart, you're doing amazing.
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  SPEAKER_00: And at that moment, that was like God reminding me to keep going.
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  SPEAKER_00: The next three days, I gave that floor everything I had.
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  SPEAKER_00: I came in at six every morning, remerchandized every single section, denim by fit, BCBG by color, free people, swim organized by brand and category.
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  SPEAKER_00: My merchandise lead at the time, his name was Xavier, worked beside me with so much heart, and he was amazing.
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  SPEAKER_00: By Thursday afternoon, our district vice president, the big boss, walked the floor, and she was stunned.
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  SPEAKER_00: She said, Jess, I've never seen this floor look like this.
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  SPEAKER_00: By Friday morning, the buyers from New York arrived, and their reaction, total amazement.
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  SPEAKER_00: They loved the floor.
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  SPEAKER_00: They had so many ideas of what they were going to buy for the next season and all that.
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  SPEAKER_00: So good visit.
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  SPEAKER_00: The markdowns were at 88%, not 90.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: So it wasn't perfect, but everybody was thrilled.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: The following week or the next week, that manager that was on vacation came back, saw the results.
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  SPEAKER_00: Instead of thanking me, she complained that the markdowns weren't 100%.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: But leadership shut it down quickly.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: They told her, you should be thankful Jess and Xavier made your floor look fantastic because it was atrocious before.
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  SPEAKER_00: She eventually thanked me days later, but her attitude never changed.
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  SPEAKER_00: For years afterwards, she kept trying to undermine me.
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  SPEAKER_00: And later on, she worked with my husband and he saw it too.
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  SPEAKER_00: So that's when it really like hit me.
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  SPEAKER_00: Some people live in a soul spirit.
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  SPEAKER_00: They can't celebrate others because they see success as a threat.
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  SPEAKER_00: And here's what God taught me through both David's story and my own.
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  SPEAKER_00: When someone around you is winning, when they're having their David moment, your job isn't to compete.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your job is to celebrate.
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  SPEAKER_00: But if you let jealousy sit too long, they'll start to whisper to you, whisper those lies.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's Satan speaking to you, saying, You're not enough.
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  SPEAKER_00: You're being overlooked.
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  SPEAKER_00: They don't deserve it.
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  SPEAKER_00: And that's exactly what the enemy wants: to pull your focus off of God's faithfulness and onto someone else's blessing.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: But gratitude can kill jealousy at the root.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: I really believe that.
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  SPEAKER_00: And whenever I feel that comparison creeping in, that frustration creeping in, you know, I do this more now.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: I stop and I say to myself, Lord, thank you.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for my home.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for my daughter.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for my health.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for my husband.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for my parents.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for my grandfather still living.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the job you've given me.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for the life you've entrusted me with.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: I praise your holy name, Lord.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because God's favor is not limited.
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  SPEAKER_00: If he blessed David, he can bless you.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: He could bless Saul if Saul would just get himself together.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: If he promoted, if God promoted someone else, he's still writing your story too.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody's paths are not the same.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody's blessings are not the same.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your blessings, your journey is in one direction and someone else's in another.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: You can't compare right to left.
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  SPEAKER_00: So maybe today you've been dealing with jealousy.
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  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you've just been on that receiving end of it.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you've been like David, just doing your best and someone's trying to dim your light.
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  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you're, if you're honest, you've had some soul moments, feeling like someone else's win is your loss.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: I've been there.
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  SPEAKER_00: Wherever you are, let this be a reminder.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: God's favor can't be stolen.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: His plan for you hasn't changed.
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  SPEAKER_00: Celebrate others, stay faithful in your lane, and keep your eyes on the one who anointed you for your purpose in life.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: Father God, thank you for reminding us today that comparison is such a thief of joy.
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  SPEAKER_00: Help us to guard our hearts against jealousy and instead to celebrate those around us with love and humility.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Teach us to trust your timing, your favor, and your plan for our lives.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: And when we feel overlooked, remind us, Lord, that you see us, you know us, and you are preparing us for something greater.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Father, we love you and we praise you in Jesus' name.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for joining.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Till next time, we're going to continue First Samuel.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to continue that journey of David and all the trials and the struggles till he finally becomes King of Israel.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And just if people didn't realize it, you always think about David with Bathsheba, but David and Mikhail, he had a first wife, a wife that was supposed to be his, and it backfired.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll be discussing that and more next time.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: God bless.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that wraps up this week's episode.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: My prayer is that these devotions bring you a little closer to God each day.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: If you felt encouraged, don't keep it to yourself.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: Share this episode with a friend or loved one who could use the same reminder.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to hit subscribe so you never miss a weekly message.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if you like, leaving a kind review means so much.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: For more, check the show notes or connect with me on Instagram or TikTok at JessieMorganFaith.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, this is Jessie Morgan praying off.