Don't Shun God's Power
1 Samuel 5:6 After defeating the Israelites, the Philistines take the Ark of the Covenant to the city of Ashdod and set it up in the Dagon temple right next to Dagon. The lack of reverence for the Ark results in disaster for the Philistines.
12/6/20251 min read
"But the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He ravaged them and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory." 1 Samuel 5:6 (NKJV)
After defeating the Israelites, the Philistines bring the Ark into the Dagon temple in Ashdod and set it next to Dagon, their god. They figured that more gods would be better for them, but they misjudged the power of God. They awoke the next morning to find Dagon face down in front of the Ark. They propped him back up and then found him the next morning face down in front of the Ark with his head and hands broken off indicating that Dagon had neither the wisdom nor the strength to save his followers. Then the Lord ravaged the people of Ashdod and struck them with tumors. They had a choice at this point. They could have got rid of their god, Dagon and worship the One and True God, but they chose not to. Instead, they sent the Ark to another town, who suffered the same consequences. After sending it to a third town with the same consequences, they decide to send the Ark back to the Israelites.
Addictions are like the Philistine god, Dagon. When we live in drug, alcohol, sexual, or any other addiction, we deny the true power of God and suffer the consequences. These addictions bring us intense pain, hopelessness & helplessness, low self-esteem, depression, and make us vulnerable. This is where we have a choice. We can send God away and continue in our pain, or we can accept the true power of God. James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." This verse teaches that by submitting to God and resisting the devil, believers can find freedom from addiction.
Choose to acknowledge the power of God. Join a Celebrate Recovery or any other Christian recovery organization, and give your hurt, habits, and hangups to Jesus. Tell Satan that, "you will no longer control me with this addiction, because I am a child of God and He is the one who I want." Don't shun God's power because it is greater than any adversity that you may face and will deliver you from your addition.