May 17, 2026 Devo

I was talking with a man this week who has been struggling. As we talked about his problems and how he was dealing with them, he used a phrase that I hear from time to time. “Generational curses.” It’s a phrase that’s used to describe the destructive tendencies and issues that seem to be passed on from one generation to the next, time and time again. They’re not genetic. They are patterns of behavior and personal and family dysfunction that are learned and repeated, over and over again.
For example, people who abuse children tend to come from families where they were abused. People who deal with alcohol and chemical addiction tend to come from families with parents and grandparents who struggled with those addictions. People who are incarcerated often come from homes where there were other family members who were incarcerated. Poor money managers are often that way because they had no models of good money management. Get the picture?
But it doesn’t have to be that way. That’s what God is pointing out in our passage today. Just as there are “generational curses,” there are “generational blessings.” When we face our addictions and break the chains of their bondage, we break the curse for our family lineage. When we own our dysfunction, bring healing to our past woundedness, and establish healthy patterns of relating to one another, we breathe life and health into the next generation. When we obey God, serve Him faithfully, and seek after Him with all of our hearts, we set our kids and grandkids up to receive the blessings that come from serving the Lord.
What I told the man I talked to this week was that you can’t do anything about the life you inherited. But you can do EVERYTHING about the life you’re living and the one you’re going to pass on. Let’s stop being victims of the generations behind, and let’s commit to being victors in the generation that’s ours! Let’s do more than just break the curse. Let’s become Generational Blessings! That’s God’s Word for you today.