Flat on Your Face?

The Philistines took the Ark of God, putting it by their god Dagon, in Dagon’s temple, proving their gods were mightier by conquering Israel’s God. But the next day, they found their idol on the ground, face down before the Ark, and they set it back in place. The next day, they found it fallen again face down as before, but without its head and arms; only the stump was intact (1 Sam 5:2). God severely punished the Philistines for degrading His name until they brought the Ark back to its rightful place in Israel.

Do you have projects, ideas, people, or feel yourself “falling face down?” Attachments to and dependence on anyone or anything before your Creator is idolatry. Whatever we prioritize as more important than God is an idol we worship, and He will not be second to anything or anyone: “I am the Lord thy God; Thou shalt not have any other gods before Me” (Ex 20:2a, 3). Whether we have God first in our lives, He is the Almighty—He sits on His throne, but is He on your heart’s throne? Give Him His rightful first place in your life lest things or you fall, facing His discipline.