Last week I wrote a blog affirming that becoming a follower of Jesus does not mean life will be trouble free.  In fact, Jesus assured us that in this world we will have trouble.  In hostile environments such as China, Russia or the Middle East, that trouble could be for a life time as believers are targeted for persecution by the state.  And yet even in those environments, it seems that certain seasons produce more trouble than others.

In the west, Christians are not so blatantly targeted but may find more subtle persecution in certain environments such as in universities, the entertainment industry, some corporate environments, families, and so on.  If you live or work in a “Woke” community and verbalize biblical values, you will be opposed and probably censored.  There is a price to be paid for our faith in this world.  We need to be at peace with that reality.

After my last blog, someone asked if trouble was simply going to be their lot for a lifetime.  In the context, it was not trouble from persecution but simply from things in life never working out.  There are believers who seem to face a disproportionate amount of loss and failure which might include a number of deaths in a family in a relatively short time, financial stress even though they work hard, promotions going to less qualified people at the workplace, and constant vehicle breakdowns and expenses around the home that just always keep them under water.  Sometimes it is a disproportionate amount of sickness that makes life hard.  Perhaps, you have known those individuals or families.

I believe it is normal for all believers to have seasons of hardship, but not for that to be the standard of their entire life.  In cases like that, it seems that some kind of curse is operating that gives the devil a legal right to afflict or oppress an individual or family. The idea of curses seems very antiquated to most Americans, but it is a very biblical theme.  In fact, in Deuteronomy 28, God spends a great deal of time explaining to Israel that diligent obedience to the Lord would bring abundant blessings, but persistent disobedience without repentance would bring abundant curses that touched every part of life.  Abundant blessings include health, financial prosperity, fruitfulness from their efforts, blessed relationships, peace from their enemies, and even the promise of rain at the right times to bless their crops.  Curses would bring just the opposite…health problems, financial failure, broken relationships, war, natural disasters, and so forth.

There are several sections in scripture that picture Satan standing before the Lord bringing accusations against God’s people.  As he brought those accusations, he was looking for a legal precedent that would allow him to afflict those people on the basis of their sin or the sins of their fathers or on the basis of words they had spoken or oaths they had taken.  Those things may constitute a curse which the enemy can enforce as long as that curse remains.

When hardship, other than persecution persists, and is clearly over-proportionate to what most believers are dealing with, a curse may be operating.  An unrepented sin may clearly present itself as the probable cause of the curse.  Unforgiveness towards others who have wronged you would be the first thing to search for in your heart.  Other ongoing sins that you are excusing would be the next place to look…sexual sin, materialism, an immoral relationship, gossip, judging others, bigotry, discrimination (especially against Jews), ignoring the poor, idolatry, addictions, violence, abortions, etc. are things that need to be identified, acknowledged, repented of and renounced in order to take away the legal right of the enemy. 

Sins of the fathers (Ex. 20:5) is another thing you must consider.  It is not aways easy to know what our ancestors have done that may have opened the door to a generational curse that can be passed down from generation to generation. Violence, defrauding another, adultery, involvement in the occult in any form, molestations, antisemitism, participation in false religions, etc. can be found in most family lines.

You may research your family history for clues or spend a season in prayer asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the root of the curse operating in your life.  When you sense what it is, then confess it and repent of it on behalf of your bloodline. Then renounce the sin and cancel the curse in the name of Jesus.

Words spoken over us by those who have had spiritual authority over us can also establish a curse.  A parent telling us we will never amount to anything or that we will never be loved or announcing that they wish we had never been born can open the door to sickness, business and relationship failures, etc.  If we said those words over ourselves, they can also establish a curse.  If any words like that that have been spoken, they need to need to be renounced and repented of as well.

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the root of any curse that may be operating.  It is God’s will to bless his people so if curses predominate instead of blessing, seek to know the root. Have those with prophetic gifts and gifts of discernment pray with you to see what they hear from the Lord as well. Trouble will come our way, but God is also a God of blessing who wants to bless his children even in the midst of trouble. Blessing should be the rule of our lives rather than the exception.