فصل 4

CHAPTER 4

Breaking Free from the Strongholds of Your Past

It is startling but true: The decisions we make today don’t simply affect ourselves; they affect our children and our children’s children for multiplied generations. The Bible talks about how the iniquity of the fathers can be passed down for three or four generations. That means bad habits, addictions, negativity, wrong mind-sets and other types of iniquities can be passed down.

Perhaps you are struggling in certain areas right now because people who came before you made poor choices. Many times, you can look back and see the results of those choices somewhere in your family line. It is important that we recognize what has happened and that we not passively accept these negative patterns. “Well, this is just the way I am. This poverty and sickness has been in my family for years.” No, you need to rise up and do something about it. It may have been there for years, but the good news is it doesn’t have to stay there. You can be the one to put a stop to it. You can be the one to choose the blessing and not the curse.

Recent research seeks to identify specific genes and determine how genes for traits such as addiction, eating disorders, even depression, are passed down. The researchers can see definite patterns, but they cannot conclusively determine whether the cause is genetic, environmental, or hereditary, or some combination of those factors.

Certainly, all those things can be factors, but I believe the root cause is spiritual. The Bible calls it an iniquity.

We have to understand that just as the strong physical characteristics can be inherited, the negative things in our family’s bloodline will continue from generation to generation until somebody rises up and puts a stop to it. For example, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, that decision didn’t just affect them; it affected their children. Do you know who the first murderer was in the Bible? It was Adam’s son Cain. The second murderer was one of Cain’s descendants, a man by the name of Lamech. That iniquity kept getting passed down through generations of Cain’s offspring. It was in their family line.

Similarly, many of the things we struggle with today may be traced to somebody in our family line who gave in to it, and now we have to deal with it. We shouldn’t use that as an excuse or a rationalization for continuing that pattern, but we must recognize what has happened, and we need to be more determined than ever that we are going to be the ones to put a stop to it.

A beautiful young woman named Betsy struggles with anorexia. She explained to me how her mother had succumbed to it, several of her aunts had it, her sisters had it, and several cousins did too. This one sickness was practically tearing this family apart. That was not just a coincidence; that’s a negative, destructive spirit that keeps getting passed down in that family. It probably would have continued to decimate the family had Betsy not made a choice to live under the blessings of God rather than a curse. Betsy realized that her struggle against anorexia was not merely a physical battle; it was a spiritual battle as well. As she took authority over those issues in the name of Jesus, Betsy broke free from the bondage she had inherited.

Examine the areas in your life where you constantly struggle, in the areas where it seems as though something is trying to drag your family down. Maybe it’s a pattern of divorce, poverty, addictions, abuse, depression, even sicknesses.

Friend, you have to make the choice whether you will receive the blessing and not the curse. If these negative patterns exist in your family line, recognize what’s happening and do something about it. Don’t just keep passing it down. Regardless of how the negative pattern began, you can be the one to stop it.

The Scripture says, “The curse does not come without a cause.” That means when we are dealing with issues such as bad habits, and dysfunctions, either we’ve made bad choices or somebody in our family line has made some bad choices. There’s a reason a child grows up to become an alcoholic. There’s a reason a child becomes an abusive parent. There’s a reason a young man commits crimes until he is sent off to prison, and when he is released, he goes right back to a life of crime. Certainly, societal issues may have an impact, but these things don’t randomly happen in the spirit realm. Somebody, somewhere, opened the door to the enemy.

Understand, if you are struggling with one or more of these things, that does not make you a bad person. You need not mope around guilty and condemned because you have some obstacles to overcome. Many times, it may not even be your fault. Somebody else made the poor choices, and now you have to deal with the repercussions. Nevertheless, be careful that you don’t use that as an excuse to perpetuate negative lifestyle patterns. You have to dig your heels in and do something about it.

One of the first steps to overcoming these generational curses is to recognize what you’re dealing with. Identify it. Don’t ignore it. Don’t try to sweep it under the rug and hope that it will go away. It won’t.

The Bible says, “Confess your faults one to another and pray for one another that you may be healed.” Notice, you must be honest enough with yourself to confess your faults. You’re going to have to find a good mature friend and say, “I need your help. I’m struggling in this area, and I need you to pray with me.” Too often, we do just the opposite. We think, I’m not going to tell anybody about this problem. What would they think of me? I’d be embarrassed.

Instead, swallow your pride, confess your weakness, and get the help you need so you can be free. It is not easy to admit that we need help, but it is necessary, and it is liberating.

In the same way, you can beat anything that’s come against you. No addiction is too difficult for our God. No stronghold is impenetrable to Him. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve had it, or how many times you’ve tried and failed, today is a new day. If you will be honest with yourself, recognize what you’re dealing with, and find somebody to hold you accountable, then you too can start living under the blessing and not the curse. You can free yourself from those negative generational patterns, and start a new pattern of goodness and love for your descendants.

Take responsibility for your actions. God has given you free will. You can choose to change. You can choose to set a new standard. Every right choice you make will overturn the wrong patterns that other people in your family’s lineage have made. Every time you resist a temptation, you are one step closer to your victory. We can’t change the past, but we can change the future by making right choices today.

Remember, this is a spiritual battle. You must take authority over all the strongholds that are keeping you in bondage. One of the first things you must do is recognize what it is, identify it, get it out in the open, and deal with it. As you do, you will see God’s blessings and favor in your life, and you will pass down those good things to the generations to follow. In the next chapter, I’ll show you how you can leave a lasting positive legacy. an leave a lasting positive legacy.