“But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerods, even Ashdod and the coasts thereof. ⁷And when the men of Ashdod saw that it was so, they said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us: for his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon our god.” I Samuel 5:6-7

The ark of God represents the presence of God. Israel lost the presence of God when the Philistines captured the ark of God. Just like today, the presence of God is gone from many of our churches. However, that does not mean that God is not at work. He dealt with those Philistines while they had possession of the ark. God was still at work revealing Himself to the lost. Let’s pray that the presence of the Lord will return to our churches so God can use us to reveal Himself to the world.