Shemu’ĕl Aleph (1 Samuel) 4:21

The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to grow believers in their faith and increase their passion for Jesus. Break down the book of 1 Samuel into the “Big Picture” of the passage, then “Digging Deeper” into that section, and then move into “Living Out” the lessons that are taught in the passage in this 5-day reading plan.

Every believer at one point or another ends up at a moment when routine isn’t enough anymore; we begin to sense that God is calling us deeper, to something more in Him, to go deeper in our pursuit of Him. We can choose to pursue Him more and more, or we can choose to stay in our routine. This five-day journey is an invitation to seek Him afresh, to lay aside comfort and chase after His Presence. As you go through this devotional, may you rediscover the joy of intimacy with God.

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.