Ichabod

"She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel..." 1Samuel 4:21 (NIV)

These were the dying words of Eli's daughter-in-law as she gave birth to a son. She named him Ichabod which means "The glory of the Lord has departed from Israel."
Israel decided to take the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines, thinking it would give them victory. But they were overwhelmingly defeated and the Ark was captured. The Ark, the symbol of God's presence, was like a good luck charm to them. They had lost sight of the fact that only the God of the Ark could save them. The Ark itself was powerless without the presence of God. The glory of The Lord had, indeed, departed from them and they didn't even know.
Today, we are engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy of our souls, but many of us do not realize that God is not with us. What is it that causes God's glory to depart? Isaiah 59:1 says,"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God." It is repentance that will bring about the return of God's glory to the church and to our individual lives.