1 Samuel 7:2-4

“Where were you, God? I can't see your hand in my story. Your heart might be good, just not to me.” In this devotional, you will learn that God offers a clear way out of our doubt—by getting our eyes off our surroundings and raising them to places that serve as symbols of God’s faithfulness. Because God’s brought you this far, He won’t stop now.

Have you ever seen someone’s hands go up in surrender when frustration overwhelms them? It’s the same position we assume in the physical act of worship. Although spiritual warfare is ever-present in the life of a believer, worship is a weapon to counter everything that attempts to distance and distract us from the Lord's presence. Join Liv Dooley through a seven-day plan to discover the power in surrender.

This week, we will explore the book of 1 Samuel, engaging the transition of Israel from the age of judges to the age of kings. We will spend two days with each of the main characters—Samuel, Saul, and David—seeing both things to emulate and things to avoid as men of God.

Sometimes our desire to succeed or prosper makes us vulnerable to manipulation. Or worse, we manipulate others to get what we want. Sometimes we even try to manipulate God. The Bible passages in this reading plan help us guard against manipulation—either being manipulated or being the manipulators. These passages help us embrace the true prosperity God offers us instead.