Episode 31: Breaking the Cycles
It’s fun to watch history repeat itself when the things it repeats are good. Children imitating parents, students imitating excellent teachers, athletes carrying on the traditions of great coaches; all are important patterns and worth repeating. However, the problem arises when the behaviors or attitudes passed down are destructive or dangerous. This is a damaging GENERATIONAL CYCLE. A Generational Cycle left unchecked can become a Generational Curse.
A GENERATIONAL CURSE, often mentioned in the Bible, refers to the consequences of the ancestor’s actions, beliefs, and sins that have been passed down. A curse is the unbroken patterns of destruction that no one pays attention to or takes the time to change.
In Genesis 26 we see a Generational Cycle that fortunately was broken by Abrahma’s son Isaac. During a time of famine Isaac began to make his way to Egypt for food. God meets him on the road to Egypt and reminds him of the promises of his father Abraham. He reminds him specifically about:
1. A land - God promised his father the land and possession of a nation, which was his inherited promise too.
2. A blessing - In your seed all nations will be blessed.
3. A directive - He had to stay where he was and not travel to Egypt in order to be blessed. We often leave before the blessing!
In verses 7-10 we see a troubling Generational Cycle where Isaac acts in the same manner as his father, by telling the King that his wife was his sister. This allowed the King to take her as his wife, without resistance from an existing husband. If a husband resisted, he was killed, which is exactly what Isaac was afraid of.
Isaac wasn’t born at the time his father did the same thing…TWICE…to his mother Sarah. Generational Cycles occur because sins of the flesh have been nurtured in the same environment and patterned by a previous generation. Perhaps he heard the stories of this time from his mother or watched the unhealthy ways they manipulated circumstances relationally or in their business.
Isaac clearly didn’t exemplify care about his wife in this situation, although he claims to have loved her dearly. In this moment, he cared about his own safety far more than he cared about hers.
When the King found out Isaac had deceived him, he sent him away with his wife and the promise no one would attack or hurt him. In an incredible turn of events, Isaac went on to prosper in the land, which we see is a direct result of breaking the Generational Cycle of manipulation. To break these cycles in our own lives we must:
1. RECOGNIZE…this is a problem. We must see our behavior as it really is, not what we’ve been deceived to think or ignored.
2. BELIEVE…God has a way out. The King gave Isaac his favor in this moment and Isaac took it as an opportunity to do something good. He planted new crops, and the Lord blessed him.
3. MOVE…away from what formerly destroyed you.
“Now the Lord has given us room, and we will flourish in the land…” Genesis 26: 22
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