Having a spiritual cleanout

“When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Epharim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.” 2 Chronicles 31:1
The events described here happened during the time of Hezekiah, one of the godly kings of Judah. He called the nation together to celebrate the Passover – something that had not been done since the time of Joshua. The people came and celebrated, and their celebrations continued for a further week after the time specified. We read, “There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, His holy dwelling place” (2 Chr. 30:26-27).
As a result of this spiritual revival, the people then went out and destroyed all the idols and altars and everything associated with the worship of false gods, throughout the land. This is an important thing we must do if we are serious about serving the Lord, and serving Him only. Is there anything in your life that is taking His place today, or warping your view of Him? It might not be something that is intrinsically sinful, but for you it could be an idol. About ten or twelve years ago I really got into Star Trek books. I enjoyed reading them and must have had about fifty or sixty. In and of themselves they were not sinful, but over time I started to view Jesus as having the personality traits of Spock. I knew this was wrong, and for several months I put the books to one side. Slowly this view started to fade, but as soon as I thought I had mastered it and started reading again, it quickly came back. There was only one thing to do – I had to get rid of these books and everything associated with them. So I did. Ever since then, I haven’t gone back. In order for me to serve the Lord, I know that I can’t get involved with that again, even though other Christians may be able to. And that’s fine. Paul wrote, “Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me – but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Cor. 6:12). It’s good to have a spiritual cleanout, to really take stock and get rid of everything in our lives that is idolatrous or not expedient to our walk with the Lord. Is there anything like this that you need to deal with today?