Forty-three years ago, Jan and I were two church planters living in Kalispell, Montana. We had just moved all our belongings and our two preschool kids in a U-Haul truck to a rental house. The house was out in the country in an open pasture. We felt alone and vulnerable.

During that time, a group of experiences took place that got our attention like the repeated manifestations of a demonic presence that tried to run us out of town, bizarre occurrences with people, and the following story I want to share.

In our living room, we had a couch, chairs, and a small end table. The table was something a family member gave to us as a gift years before when we were first married. It was from Guatemala where they served as missionaries.  Engraved on the side of the table were images that looked like the faces of gargoyles. We thought nothing of the images until years later when Jan and I were sitting in our living room in Montana. The Lord drew our attention to the engraved images, and we saw them for the first time in the Spirit and sensed that something was wrong with their depiction.

As Jan and I talked about what we were now seeing through the eyes of discernment, we decided to burn the table. It was small enough to disassemble and put into the fireplace. Our act was a rejection of its engraved images and its continued presence in our home.

When the fire ignited the table, something strange began to happen. The entire wall of our home began to moan and tremble. It was loud and terrifying like someone or something banging on the wall trying to escape. When these manifestations started, Jan and I began to worship the Lord not knowing fully what was taking place. We thought the house was going to burn down. The fire began to emit strange colors as we watched it being consumed. When the table and its images finally burned up, we sensed a peace descend on our home. Something left.

This story was brought back to my memory this morning as I read about Jehu killing all the prophets of Baal. Jehu “Smashed the sacred pillar and wrecked the temple of Baal, converting it into a public toilet, as it remains to this day” (II Kings 10: 27).

Some believers attach no significance to a table like the one we burned. To them, “It’s just a table.” Each time in the following years when we cleaned our house something shifted spiritually in our home. Each act of faith brought a deeper sense of peace.

We have entered a time when cleaning the house is more important than ever. This is not just about furniture. It is about attitudes that conflict with the work of the Spirit or vows we made that remain in effect contrary to the will of God. Unforgiveness in any form is an evil presence and must be challenged. A financial sin we allow to remain needs to be confessed and abandoned. Our whole being is the house of God and it requires purity.

This is not about chasing demons and darkness. It is following a Spirit-led impression that something is not right and removing its presence from our lives.