Don’t Curse Your Blessings
Sometimes when things are going haywire in your own life it is difficult to find something to be grateful for. God, in His infinite mercy, does not hold it against us. He still wakes us up and amazingly enough even allows for us to use the very breath that He’s breathing life into us with, to sigh in ungratefulness. Nevertheless, even when you do not feel like praising God, you can praise Him for what He’s done in the generations before you because it’s the reason you are here today!
Your Present Pain Will Make The Promise Sweeter
When we worship in the midst of our pain it is a sweet incense to God. The sacrifice of your praise does not go unnoticed. This author remembers having the most intense moments of praise after suffering great losses in my own personal life but now here I am sitting in the very promises that were birthed from that painful season. Pastor Mike Signorelli teaches us to stay faithful to God’s ways because the miracle is on the way. In the Bible we see countless accounts of the pain suffered by God’s people which is always preceded by a promise. For some reason we don't even focus on those hard moments because we are always so blown away by the miracle that comes forth after all of that.
“So we should always praise God, because of what Jesus has done for us. We should say clearly that we trust Jesus. That is like our sacrifice which we offer to God all the time.”– Hebrews 13:15
When you can’t find praise in your current circumstance, it’s important to remind yourself that God has woven Himself into the tapestry of your family and through your legacy. God has shown up to the generations of your family regardless of how dysfunctional they may have been. When you look at Jesus’ genealogy it’s clear no one had it fully right until he stepped into the picture. Pastor Mike has shared of a time when his grandmother was a little girl and her life was saved. Growing up, his grandmother Dorma lived in between two mountains and one night she dreamt that a man in a white robe told her to go outside. She awoke from her dream, walked outside and recounts seeing that man in the robe again assuring her to come outside. As she walked outside, her roof instantly collapsed and her life was spared. Pastor Mike knows that man was Jesus weaving Himself into their lineage right there and then. Had grandma Dorma not survived that incident, Pastor Mike’s mother Sandra would not be here, nor Himself or his children.
Do not get caught up in focusing on the things you want or what others have but you don’t, do not allow yourself to get sidetracked by what is not going right currently, allow Jesus to step into your circumstance and praise Him in the storm. The Apostle Paul did this often, he knew as he stated in Romans 8:18 that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to those in Christ.
The psalmist had a similar stance in his trials:
“But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, set me on high! I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.” – Psalm 69:29-30
In Blessings And Curses There Are Generations
God wants to redeem the pain from past generations and turn it into purpose.
The areas in which people suffer from the most pain are usually the areas where they are called to and have the most purpose. The enemy attacks the areas that are of value, he does not waste his time on things that are of no threat to his kingdom. As we see in scripture both blessing and curses are seen throughout generations. It is important to behold the blessings in your lineage and encourage yourself with that. In the moments that you are tempted to feel bad for yourself because of dysfunctional patterns in your generational line remember Jesus came to set the captives free. Break off those generational curses and use the blood of Jesus to start a new bloodline. Doctors understand something most preachers today don’t. There are in fact things that pass down from one's family history and that’s why doctors always asks for a patient's family history.
A study done by neuroscientists showed that “both addiction and brain structure are likely to be inherited traits, many researchers suspect that drug abusers have faulty brain circuitry based on their genes.” As Christians we put everything under the blood and if the way you are wired is always fighting against living the ways God intended, then even your DNA has to bow to our God.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” – James 4:7-8
The urge to sin weakens the more you resist it just like the urge to repeat dysfunctional family patterns does too.
It’s Better To Be Silent Than Curse Your Blessing
If you are a believer in Christ and have committed your life and future to Him then not even your funky past can rob you from God's blessings. Nevertheless, the things you speak can work against you. We see this in scripture with Zechariah. According to the book of Luke, Elizabeth and Zechariah were "righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly", however they were childless.
“In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” – Luke 1:5-20
Though a priest and a faithful man, Zechariah was so hopeless while waiting on the blessing of God that when the angel appeared to him he doubted the miracle he had been praying for. Do not allow yourself to get in the way of what God will do. The Lord will silence the enemy so that he will not be able to curse the blessing God desires to bring forth. The Christian posture when waiting for the breakthrough is to “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” as Paul says in Romans 12:12.
Zechariah went into the temple to light the incense in the tabernacle. Under the new covenant God did away with that form of worship but we can still keep the incense of praise burning even when we are in the waiting season as we see that Zechariah did. Where Zechariah went wrong was once the angel was telling him of the incoming miracle, he spoke doubt and fear. We need to learn how to be silent and not curse what God is trying to bless. Instead be an echo of the blessing, encourage those around you to keep the faith, the promise is coming regardless of where you came from or where you are now!
Is God pleased with the sacrifice you are giving? If you find yourself aligning with the curse rather than the blessing, shift gears now and resist that way of being, call out to the Lord and He will be the author of your future, in Jesus name.
About the Author:
Jeannie Ortega Law is a chart-topping singer, evangelist, media personality and author from New York City. She can be reached on social media: @JeannieOrtega or emailed at Info@JeannieO.com
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