For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. 2 Chronicles 34:3 (NKJV)
I use several resources for my own personal devotions. This mornings hit me right between the eyes as far as being relevant to what is going on at SCC right now. It’s from a book called, “The New Rebellion,” and it is full of encouragement for those who wish to remain on fire for Jesus. Here is what I read;
The same passion that draws your heart hard after God also pushes your heart hard away from false gods. If that dynamic is not in place, then passion is not yet fully formed. The verse above describes a remarkable young man named Josiah who became king at the age of eight! The Bible then describes how he turned his heart toward God and changed the destiny of a nation.
Four years later, Josiah began to purge all the idolatry from his country. Today’s idols are more subtle but no less real. Do you know the things, the activities, or the affections that seek first place in your heart? Does you passion for God lead you to declare war on those challenges or do you give them some room? This is a time for vigilance, not passivity!
What did you think? It’s almost scary how that devo. parallels so many lives at SCC right now. There is a fire burning in the hearts of hundreds and hundreds of us, but the evil one wants to pour water on those flames and watch them sizzle down to nothing.
So, how do we keep out passion for God burning bright for years? How do we ensure that these past several weeks are not mere, ‘mountain top’ experiences that will simply end in a crash once we hit the valley again?
Simple, listen to what God’s Word tells us from 2 Chronicles and the life of Josiah. Now that you have a fire burning Strong in your heart, identify those things in your life that are sure fire passion killers, and tear those idols down.
Remember, this race is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, and we need to remove the obstacles that will cause us to drop out of the race early and prevent us from finishing strong.
Hope this helps! It helped me.