Dwight Fletcher | Jesus is a must because He exchanges curses for blessings

The subject of curses and blessings is unfamiliar to some of us today. For many of us, we may recognise overt blessings in our lives, but miss the more subtle and dangerous ways that we are affected by curses every day. More of us are being affected by curses than would care to admit. There are cycles of problems and brokenness that we face in our lives and in our families that we think we’re stuck with forever. However, Jesus dealt with curses on the Cross and now through Him we can be free from the pain and domination of curses forever! This is another reason that Jesus is a must for everyone.

Galatians 3:13-14 NIV says: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole’. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” Jesus took every curse due to us when He hung on the cross that we might be redeemed from curses and enter into the blessings that God has prepared for His people.

This may cause you to ask: If Jesus took every curse, then how can I still suffer under a curse? God’s Word says that we perish (suffer) because of a lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). So, our first course of action is to increase our knowledge and understand what curses are and how they operate.

Blessings and curses exist today. Both are vehicles of supernatural, spiritual power that are invisible but their results are tangible. Blessings produce good and beneficial results while curses produce bad and harmful results. Not every bad thing that happens to you is a curse; instead, curses are the result of a sin done by someone (not necessarily yourself) that plagues you. Here are some other basic truths about blessings and curses:

i. They are seldom limited to the individual – extend to families, communities or even nations.

ii. They continue from generation to generation until something happens to cancel their effects. Therefore, we should be mindful that there may be forces at work in our lives that have their origin in previous generations. So, when we look at our families we may see recurrent situations or patterns of behaviour that cannot be explained solely in terms of what has happened in our lifetimes or personal experiences. The root cause may go back a long way in time, even thousands of years.

iii. They are sometimes instituted by words. Such words may be spoken or written or merely uttered inwardly. As Proverbs 18:21 says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” However, words are not the only channels through which the spiritual power of blessings and curses may be transmitted. Sometimes physical objects may become vehicles for this kind of power. The Anointing Oil in the Old Testament is an example of an object that carried the power to bless.

The enemy is always on the lookout for opportunities to kill, steal and destroy. This is why it can sometimes feel like despite your hard work and good deeds, you cannot escape a pain or problem. But thanks be to Jesus who took away any rights the enemy has to curse you. By submitting your life to Jesus, repenting of your sin and renouncing any curses on your life, you will become free of the curse and open to blessings instead!