If you look closely at the lineage of some families you will find that the great grandfather died an alcoholic, the grandfather and father died also as alcoholics; now all indications are that the son is going to suffer the same fate. Dying an alcoholic really means dying young. So down the line all the males will die young as a result of this addiction. People will conclude that it is ‘like father, like son.’
While it may look that way on the surface, such patterns reveal that there is more to it than meets the eye. I know of two families where all the male children served long prison terms and another where nearly all the male offspring died prematurely from excessive alcohol consumption.
It does not just happen with alcohol; we see these patterns reoccurring in broken marriages where the woman’s mother, grandmother and even great grandmother did not survive in their marriages. The same is true for bearing children out of wedlock or prior to getting married. It runs in families. There is an explanation to all this but we tend to brush it aside as just happenstance. The pattern runs down from off the father or mother and down the line. Anywhere you find this happening generation after generation, it is because it is a curse. That curse must be broken! It is disturbing when the victims themselves accept it as a fait accompli saying; ‘Well, this is our inheritance.’ Nothing of the kind! We must fight it! It takes firm resistance and the chain is broken for good and normalcy is restored.
Very few Christians seem to realise that where they are concerned God has marked and mapped out everything for them as good. Therefore, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) God has blessed us with manifold blessings and we must start possessing our possessions. Satan wants you to believe that God does not like your family or you for that matter; or that you brought this upon yourself. He wants you to accept this pattern as the norm and therefore not do anything about it. The Bible exhorts us thus; ‘How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?” (Numbers 23:8) Curse is not our portion and must not be accommodated.
In Old Testament times, we observe a thread that runs in the families of certain patriarchs. Abraham lied about his wife whom he said was his sister. He did so out of fear for his life. Sarah was so beautiful; he feared that if Pharaoh should set eyes on her knowing that he was her husband, then he would have been dead meat. “There is surely no fear of God in this place,” said Abraham, “and they will kill me because of my wife. ..... I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: everywhere we go, say of me, he is my brother.” (Genesis 20:11, 13) We find Isaac, Abraham’s son, also lying about his wife Rebecca claiming that she was his sister. (Genesis 26:7)
Now, interestingly both Sarah and Rebecca were barren and both gave birth to their firstborns in old age. As if the preceding examples were not eloquent enough, Abraham relocated to Egypt as a result of a severe famine in Israel. When however another famine broke out in Israel during Isaac’s time, the natural thing for him to do would have been to follow in his father’s footsteps. It would have been a repeat performance if God had not intervened. “The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and I will bless you.’ ” (Genesis 26:2-3) Indeed Isaac prospered in a land where there was famine and he became the envy of Abimelech, king of the Philistines.
Observe closely any thread of misfortune running in your family or in your bloodline and take steps to break the chain, now. Remember nothing is impossible with God, the Father to accomplish. God wants each and every one of us to inherit what he has reserved for us from the beginning of time. Do not let the devil deprive you of your inheritance. Break that chain in the mighty power of Jesus’ name. Amen!
