Watch for the Red Flags

Red flags appear in our lives for a reason—yet how often do we charge past them? In this powerful conclusion to Samson's story, we witness how one of the Bible's strongest men became undone by ignoring clear warning signs in his relationship with Delilah. 

Samson's tale serves as a sobering reminder that even God-anointed strength can be compromised when we entertain toxic relationships. Despite Delilah attempting to betray him three separate times, Samson remained with her, eventually sharing the secret of his strength that would lead to his capture, blinding, and imprisonment. 

I share my own experience with a relationship where financial selfishness created a clear pattern of behavior. Despite knowing better, I gave second chances only to face the same disappointment. 

The most powerful takeaway? Satan studies your strengths just as the Philistines studied Samson's. Protect what God has given you—your talents, your peace, your purpose—by recognizing the writing on the wall when it appears. Subscribe now to continue our journey through Scripture and learn how ancient wisdom continues to guide our modern lives through the book of Judges. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Jesse Morgan Devotions
• 1:14 Samson: Complex Man, Blessed Judge
• 3:13 Delilah's Deception and Samson's Blindness
• 6:17 Personal Story: The Brooklyn Museum Lesson
• 9:31 Jesus' Betrayal and Protecting Your Gift
• 12:21 Closing Prayer and Preview
• 13:15 Behind the Scenes: Judges Context

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hello, hello. You're listening to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Heart Podcast, episode 61. This week's devotional is titled Watch for the Red Flags the Conclusion of Samson. So excited, let's go. Hi, I'm Jesse Morgan. I used to just share home decor and renovation tips on social media, but now I'm sharing something even closer to my heart my journey and love for Jesus Christ, my Savior. Welcome to the Jesse Morgan Devotions for the Christian Hot Podcast.

Speaker 1: 0:34

This is a weekly devotional. I started back in May 2024, but the inspiration for it came much earlier. It was rooted in a faith journey that began when my daughter was born, four months early in 2023. Through that challenging time, god worked in ways that truly amazed me. 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. 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. So I invite you to spend less than 15 minutes with me each week as we reflect on these devotionals together. Let's all pray within. Watch for the red flags Conclusion of the story of Samson. Key passages Judges 16, matthew 26. All right, all right, everyone, welcome back.

Speaker 1: 1:24

Today we are wrapping up the story of Samson and Judges 16. And what a journey. This has been. Right, let me tell you, samson is one of the most complex, self-centered, wild, difficult, barbaric men I have ever read about in the Bible. But the crazy part, all those characteristics God still used. He still used them. God still used Samson and despite his flaws, samson was a blessing to his people for 20 years as a judge. And let's be real, the Philistines were aggressive. These are the ones that were oppressing Israel at the time. They weren't the kind of people that you reason with Sometimes. The only way to deal with people like that is to be just as aggressive back. Sometimes life puts people in your world who are the total opposite of you and they force you to step out of your comfort zone, set boundaries, stand up for yourself and, like Samson, handle business.

Speaker 1: 2:28

But now let's talk about the famous part of the story Samson and Delilah. They've made movies and everything. They focused on this so, so much, and this part really blows my mind. So Samson meets Delilah, falls in love with her or think it's love, let's be real. He's been married before. He slept with a prostitute before. So I don't know. But it says you know he loved her and the Philistines found this out, so they went. So basically, like what do they do? They go to Delilah and offer her a massive amount of money to find out the secret of Samson's strength so they can use it against him.

Speaker 1: 3:07

So here's, like the first verse, where she really tried to inquire about his strength. It's in Judges 16.6,. It says so Delilah said to Samson tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued. And here's where I need you all to lean in, because she asked him three times what his strength was, three times. And three times Samson lied to her. He fibbed, he made up stories, whatever you want to call it. But each time Delilah had Philistine men hidden in her house ready to attack the moment she got the truth and yet after every setup, samson stayed.

Speaker 1: 3:54

Now let me say this when someone keeps asking you indirect questions, testing you low-key, trying to trip you up, that's a sign, people. They either want to see you fail, they don't believe you, or they're showing their true colors. I've seen it in friendships and relationships. You tell people where you stand and they keep pushing, they keep nagging, they keep testing, they keep hinting at things they would do to you. You got to pay attention to that, because usually it means they probably will. That's not love, that's not friendship, that's a setup, and God gave us his word to open our eyes to the liars, the cheaters, the fake relationships. The writing is always on the wall. You just got to stop playing with the situation, stop tiptoeing in and out of drama, because eventually it's going to bite you, it's going to hurt and you're going to be the one crying to God for rescue. Samson stayed with Delilah even when the signs couldn't have been more clear. And I'll be honest, I've been there too.

Speaker 1: 5:01

Let me tell you a little story. When I moved to New York this is not about my husband, okay, just to put that out there when I'm, this is a different story, different situation. So when I first moved to New York, I dated this guy, nice enough, maybe a little awkward, but I thought he was cute. We went on dates, hung out and after a month we were official. But here's the thing the man was cheap, cheap, with a capital C. We go out, split the bill, lunch Split, dinner Split, ice cream Split, buying some Advil at CVS Split. Everything was split. We always had to split the bill. He'd order food when I come over, still asked me to pay half. I cook at my place, buy the groceries, the drinks, the snacks, and he'd show up empty-handed. So eventually I called him out. His response Well, you invited me over, I'm your guest. But when I was at his place, suddenly I wasn't his guest, I was his business partner splitting the check. So make that make sense. He promised to do better, but instead he stopped inviting me over completely and it just got weird and things fizzled out and I ended it Fast forward.

Speaker 1: 6:21

A couple of months later we ended on you know pretty good terms. So he wanted to hang out again and y'all the red flags were still there. But I said, yes, he finally offers to take me somewhere the Brooklyn Museum. I was excited, new to New York still, and always wanted to explore more in the different bureaus. We met up, got on the train, everything's cool.

Speaker 1: 6:44

Then he starts joking. Wouldn't it be crazy if I forgot my wallet? I laughed it off, but something in me was like hmm, we get to the museum standing in line. He jokes again. Hope you're ready to pay for everything. Ha ha, might've left my wallet, y'all we get to the front. He really forgot his wallet. So I paid tickets, lunch, the whole thing, told me. He paid me back Two weeks go by nothing.

Speaker 1: 7:16

I walked up to him at work. I was like, hey, I need my $35. He looked at me like I was crazy. You really want me to pay you back? Yes, after a whole scene at work I mean I wasn't screaming but I, you know, was a little stern I finally got my money back. But here's the lesson Shame on me for even putting myself back in that situation. The man showed me exactly who he was the first time Cheap, selfish, red flags everywhere, but I still entertained it. And isn't that just like Samson?

Speaker 1: 7:49

Delilah had Philistine men in the house and he stayed. And he finally told her his strength came from his hair and while he slept she had cut it off. When you see the writing on the wall, believe it. And in the end Samson paid the price. All believe it. And in the end Samson paid the price.

Speaker 1: 8:05

It says in Judges 16, 20 through 21,. Then she called Samson. Then she called Samson the Philistines are upon you. He woke up from his sleep and thought I'll go out as before and shake myself free, but he did not know that the Lord had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza, binding him with bronze shackles. They set him to grinding grain in the prison. So basically, his eyes were gouged out, which that's painful. He was humiliated, weak, betrayed by the woman he loved. But even after all that guys, in his final moment he said to God, when he was standing between those pillars and the Philistines were cheering and making fun of him I'm paraphrasing this he said, lord, give me my strength. Back once more In Judges 16, 28,. And God did. Samson destroyed and killed more Philistines in his death than he ever did alive.

Speaker 1: 9:07

But such a tragic ending for someone with so much potential, so much strength, but fell to weakness due to being in the wrong relationship. Let me tell you, don't let a relationship, a friendship, a situationship, whatever it is, don't let it make you weak. If they're pulling you away from God, draining your peace, your resources and testing your worth, that's not strength, that's sabotage. Okay, and y'all, even Jesus, had fake friends, had people that were waiting to get him at his weak moment. I was listening to Joel Osteen the other day, one of his podcasts while I was driving with my daughter in the car and he said something that just gave me chills. I almost had to pull over.

Speaker 1: 9:55

It was about Jesus before Jesus was crucified, and how he was betrayed by Judas with a kiss a kiss. It says Matthew 26, 48 through 50, it says Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them. The one I kiss is the man. Arrest him, going at once to Jesus. Judas said Greetings, rabbi, and kissed him. Jesus replied Do what you came for friend. Then the men stepped. Verse 50 gives me chills Do what you came for friend. Let that sink in. A friend betrayed him. And if that can happen to Jesus, you best believe that can happen to you and you best believe that fake friends, fake relationships they exist in this world. But here's the hope God uses those betrayals, those painful, humiliating moments. They wake you up, they teach you, they grow you. And when the red flags show up, don't ignore them, like I did with Mr Brooklyn Museum or like Samson did with Delilah.

Speaker 1: 11:07

Pray for discernment, pray for strength. Protect the gift God gave you your talent, your peace, your purpose and know this Satan studies you too. He'll learn your passions, your fears, your strengths and try to use them against you. But God gave you your strength for a reason. He gave you your gift, whether it's your voice, your mind, your love for others, your creativity. It's yours from him. Use it wisely, protect it. Don't share it with everybody, because some people might take advantage of it. Don't let the wrong people steal it. Amen. Let's pray, father. God, thank you for this reminder that our strength comes from you. Help us to see the red flags when they show up and give us the courage to walk away from anything or anyone that's not meant for us. Protect our gifts, our peace and our purpose. And when we feel weak, lord, remind us you are the source of our strength. Father, we love you and we praise you in Jesus name, amen.

Speaker 1: 12:13

That wraps up Samson guys Judges will continue next week. God bless, well, that wraps up this week's episode. I hope these devotions help you draw closer to God each day. If this episode encouraged you, please share it with someone who might need the same message and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a weekly episode. Also, if you feel compelled, leaving a nice review would be so appreciated as well. For more information or to reach out, check the show notes or visit jessimorganhomecom or find me on Instagram at jessimorganlife. Remember God's timing is always perfect. Keep trusting him Until next time. This is Jessi Morgan praying. All Jessi Morgan Devotions behind the scenes. The scenes starting right now. Hello, hello, welcome back to Behind the Scenes. I know I took a little break last week, but I'm back this week just to wrap up this study of Samson.

Speaker 1: 13:21

What's interesting about judges again is Samson is going to be the last judge that is mentioned thoroughly in Judges. The last three chapters or so is really going to focus in on the Levites, the tribe of Dan, a man named Micah, a man named Micah. It's really going to focus in on the chaos that occurs after, like the initial years and years and years of having a judge, and it just shows that when there's no direction, when you don't have, you know, your head on straight, you go adrift, and so these are going to be very interesting chapters. Read some of the story, read most of it already and I'm just like whoa. It's just an interesting way of how it sets up the rest of the Old Testament Just to give a little bit of more context with it.

Speaker 1: 14:25

After Judges we go into Ruth and, as people know, I did a full study on Ruth and Ruth was a Moabite woman and Moabites were not in the best of company with Israel. So it's just a whole thing. And then after that you're going into basically Samuel and you're going into you know Samuel being he basically he was a judge. And then you're going into when Israel wanted a king, which is going to be Saul, and then we're going to go into David. So it's such a fascinating series of events. Series of events and why Ruth's story is so important. It's going to set up David becoming king one day. But I just find it so interesting. It's like I appreciate the study of Judges more now because I feel like the story of David and the story of Saul and Samuel and things like that to me is more meaningful and makes more sense now because I've studied judges. So I hope it's been a blessing for you.

Speaker 1: 15:26

Judges comes with a lot of really tough lessons. It comes with a lot of learning that no matter where you came from, your background, if you have a physical disability, anything God can use you and the most flawed person can be used and God doesn't care about those flaws. He wants you to repent and focus on him and give all the glory to him. So I just want to encourage you to just hang on and continue this journey with me, with Judges, and excited to continue on to the next area I'm going to cover. I'm still kind of up in the air of where I want to go. I think I might tackle David. I have done David before, done a series, done devotionals on David, love David. Might be fun to look into that a little bit, but would love your opinions. It might be fun to look into that a little bit, but would love your opinions. If anything, say it in the comments on my social media pages and things like that. Let me know what you think. But God bless, guys, and until next time. Jesse Morgan praying off.