Talks of curses and their ill-effects on mankind, do not unduly trouble a believer, for our Lord Jesus became a curse for us to free us from its power. When various obstacles keep appearing in our lives, we also start thinking about some curses operating in our lives. Then we look for ways to break its stranglehold over us through prayer and by the help of others.
The source and effect of curses in a believer’s life – Curses are chains that hold us back from achieving our full potential and living the fullness of life that is decreed for us from God. Curse is a deliberate speech or words intended to invoke a supernatural force to cause harm or punishment on someone or something. It can also be the result of judgement or punishment for sin. Deuteronomy 28 has the first 14 verses as blessings for obedience to God’s command and 15 to 68 are curses for disobedience. Curses can be from God, who allows the devil to afflict the victim. God, as a loving Father, does not curse anyone but we suffer the consequences of our sinful actions.
God told Eve about her sin, ‘What is this you have done?’ (Genesis 3:13). He knew all about her sin but wanted her to know and understand the resultant consequences and suffering due to her unbelief and disobedience. If God had not spoken, would the curses have not affected them? The consequences of sinful deeds will definitely come but God revealed the new reality of their separation from a perfect state into a new, broken state. But with this judgement God also talked about His mercy and grace to come in the ‘seed of the woman’. This was the first part of the Gospel, the Good News for mankind. We learn about the power of the spoken word, that ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue’ (Proverbs 18:21). Spoken words carry sound energy and it must cause some effect on the listener.
Can anyone curse us? Yes, but to take effect it must have some cause for ‘Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight’ (Proverbs 26:2). We have Balaam, the prophet lured by money, by Balaak, the king of Moab to curse Israel (Numbers 23:20-21). Balaam finally told Balaak, ‘Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it’. On the other hand the greed of Gehazi, Prophet Elisha’s servant, was cursed and the prophet told him, ‘The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever’ (2 Kings 5:27). Someone may try to curse someone but without a spiritual ground for that curse, it will not take effect. A true believer, who diligently follows the Lord, cannot be cursed by the law. The believers do face consequences of sin, committed before redemption or after that. However, they are protected from the ultimate spiritual condemnation.
Many things in life, like sickness, financial struggles or trials, appear to be curses but may be the result of living in a fallen world and our life-styles. The belief of being cursed brings in fear and that in itself becomes a curse, restraining us from moving forward and receiving all that is decreed for us in heaven. Unrepentant attitudes of sin, unbelief and disobedience or involvement in witchcraft or other such activities open the door for the demonic forces to take hold. Apostle Paul cautions all believers not to ‘give place to the devil’ (Ephesians 4:27). Under normal circumstances Satan has no authority over a believer except through our sinful deeds.
God has clearly warned against child sacrifice that is used for witchcraft (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). Also, the prohibition is from consulting a soothsayer or an astrologer, interpreter of omens or a sorcerer or a medium or the one who calls up the dead. All of these activities use evil and demonic spirits to predict outcomes of certain events. In this manner a door is opened to the evil spirit to enter and take charge of one’s life. An astrologer studies the birth charts and alignment of stars at birth to predict the future but in this manner a believer turns away from faith in God to live as per His Word and in His plan.
God had put the two trees in the Garden of Eden to give free choice to Adam and Eve, for He does not desire blind obedience. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is knowledge and wisdom to make right choices in life that turn one to God and not towards the devil and his darkness of evil (1 Corinthians 12:8). When the wait becomes long, the devil starts putting doubts about God’s love, His abundance and the truth of His Word. The temptation from the devil comes to be our own god and define our destiny by using all these evil practices.
The Second Commandment brings generational curses on the disobedient, when God brings ‘the inequity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me’ (Exodus 20:5). The generational curses continue in families that hate and continue to hate the Lord God, living in rebellion. The biggest curse for a believer is to be away from God, for those who are close to Him will suffer for a while but the Lord will rescue them from every situation.
The negative impacts of a curse and escaping from it – Just before his death, Jacob pronounced the future status of his twelve sons. He cursed his firstborn son Reuben for his actions against him, by saying, ‘Unstable as water, you shall not excel’ (Genesis 49:4). As a result, this tribe never achieved any greatness in the kingdom of Israel. Just before his death Moses, the man of God blessed the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 33:1;6). He partly reversed the curse of Jacob by saying, ‘Let Reuben live, nor let his men be few’. Thus, a curse can be reversed, especially through repentance and intercession by someone.
Moses warned the Israelites to obey God’s commands to escape all diseases that were brought upon the Egyptians through the ten plagues. Apostle James advised all believers, who are sick to ask the elders of the church to pray for healing (James 5:14). But what is the difference between sickness and disease? Disease can be medically diagnosed, like cancer, diabetes, while sickness is about symptoms without being sick, like fatigue or unexplained pain. One can be sick without a diagnosable disease or have a disease without feeling sick. Some conditions run in families through generations and may be the result of curses. Other curses in the Scripture are, poverty, miscarriage, barren womb or land, untimely or sudden death, madness or mental instability, oppression and loss of possessions and family. These and many others are there, but it shows how curses can affect life.
Someone facing these issues that run in the family may be affected by a curse. This could be a spiritual curse that needs to be broken. These curses affect only those who hate God and continue in that state. The son who has seen all that his father did ‘and considers, but does not do likewise’ and changes his ways can break the chain (Ezekiel 18:14-19). The promise of God is, ‘he shall not die for the inequity of his father; he shall surely live’. The question, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ is answered by God. The way of escape is, ‘Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live’. Through repentance, faith and obedience, one can break every type of curse and walk in freedom. The promise and blessing of God is, ‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgement you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me’ (Isaiah 54:17).
Lord Jesus has given all believers ‘authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you’ (Luke 10:19). Our battle is against spiritual powers of darkness and we are not only protected but equipped to defeat them and cancel all effects of their curses and evil brought on us. We do this by following the Ways of Lord Jesus and surrendering our own will completely to Him. Our Lord declared His inability to do anything of Himself but in the power of God (John 5:19). He, then, said that He does only ‘what He sees the Father do, for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner’. He became Man to show us the right way to live and thus face all adversities and come triumphant.
The Right way to escape curses – The whole world has a story and in that every country, every state and every family has its own story. In a family each family member has his own story. When certain stories match each other, relationships are formed or in other cases disputes arise. In a story there are thoughts and, in the thoughts, there are words. The story itself is based on the light or darkness and at any stage the direction can be changed from one source to the other. At every change the source needs to be known fully, submitted to and be filled with his narrative, for each source desires to control the story and its outcome in his specific way.
When we turn to the Saviour Lord in a difficult situation, we try to align our thoughts on Him and be like Him. in the darkness all-around on the earth, ‘God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light’ (Genesis 1:3). When we seek Him in the darkness of our difficulties, He reveals Himself to us in a new role, according to our situation. After feeding five thousand families to the full, ‘Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side’ (Matthew 14:22-32). They obeyed Him but faced a great storm and were struggling to move forward. In the fourth watch, around three in the morning, our Lord ‘went to them, walking on the sea’. He walked in dominion control over the forces creating the storm and also the situation, revealing Himself in a new role.
All the twelve disciples were in the boat and ‘cried out for fear, taking Him to be a ghost. The story was controlled by the darkness till then and they were given the chance to switch. Knowing His true identity, only Apostle Peter called out, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water’. He was called by the Lord and could experience this great miracle of himself walking on the water. The darkness was separated from the light by the Creator God but remains and tries to swing the story to its control. Apostle Peter shifted focus from the Lord to the storm all around and was overcome by the same. Even in the worst situation, we must cry out, like Apostle Peter, to the only One who can and does rescue. Lord Jesus ‘immediately stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ He joined the others in the boat and the wind ceased.
Like Job and the disciples, we can be in God’s will but curses may still afflict us. We can meditate on our typical situation, seeking God’s help to understand the source and break the chain. To many people it becomes difficult to self-analyse and a Pastor’s help can be sought, someone who is reliable and can keep a secret. Once the source is identified, with repentance for oneself and for ancestors, prayer and submission, the strongholds of the devil can be broken. The Pastor may thus, help in breaking the chain and freeing the individual or the family from the curse.
The biggest hurdle is generally the spirit of unforgiveness which keeps us bound. The second hurdle is pride, for one may not want to discuss family things to someone else. The third, is fear of exposure and even while seeking help from someone, many people do not like to discuss details, making it difficult for help to come. The fourth, is ignorance and many people continue to suffer, taking their sufferings to be their destiny. The fifth is the lack of a suitable person to break the chain effectively.
Lord Jesus Christ became a curse to free us from the curse of the law, which was based on obedience (Galatians 3:13). We have redemption through faith in His finished work on the cross. In His authority take charge to break every curse over your life and your family. Then, replace the curse with the truth of the Scripture for God’s promise is to ‘go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces, the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron’ (Isaiah 45:2). We declare in faith and look forward to the chains being broken and freed from the curses. The narrative of the story changes in faith and darkness is replaced by light and hope in a great future.
The way of a curse to alight is easy, for the moment a story turns away from the light towards the darkness, the way is opened for it to prevail. Blessings are not in turning towards the light but are in continually walking and living in that. Seeing the reign of darkness all over, we need to make a decision to choose the story that we want to be part of. We follow the light and are led into that forever or to the darkness and remain immersed in that!
