TURNING CURSES INTO BLESSINGS

“Our God TURNED the CURSE into a BLESSING” – Nehemiah 13:3b

God specializes in TURNING CURSES INTO BLESSINGS: “Because they had not met the children of Israel with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. However, our God TURNED the CURSE into a BLESSING (Neh.13:2). One of the facets of God’s character that is so amazing and beyond human comprehension is the way that He redeems the lost, battered, and broken. When an item in our house gets damaged or broken, we toss it out. But, God takes what is broken in our world or in our hearts and weaves His beauty into it. Here, it is written that He turned the curse into a blessing!

The backstory is found in Numbers 22-24. Balak, king of the Moabites, adjacent to the land where the Israelites were living, feeling threatened by the evident blessing that was on God’s people, hired Balaam, a prophet, to put a curse on them in exchange for great financial reward. Balaam asked God if he could place the curse, and he heard a firm “no.” Balak persisted and finally, Balaam agreed to meet with him on the condition that he would only say what God told him to say. Yet, Balak reiterated his demand for a curse to be released. But each time he asked, Balaam spoke a blessing rather than curse. Balak was infuriated, but the blessings continued to be released. God turned the curse into a blessing not once, but three times!

The Lord says, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from Me” (Isa.54:17). Now, Jesus has taken the curse on Himself: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal.3: 13-14a). He is the Cure for every curse. God’s Love and devotion to us as His people is to turn curses, all that’s broken in our world as a result of the fall, into blessings.

As we saw in yesterday’s Capstone Capsule, God turned a curse into blessings for Jabez! We also can believe and trust God for positive changes in life. His thoughts are for our good, to give us a fulfilling future. A wise man said, “What you don’t want, you do not watch”. If you desire a change in life you must do what needs to be done for the change to be realized. At the least, PRAY for the CHANGE to come. Rather than blame his mother, Jabez desperately demanded a redefinition of destiny from “pain” or “sorrowful” to his originally ordained destiny: “more honourable”! He asked for God’s blessing “indeed”, enlargement, presence and protection from evil, and God granted his all-inclusive requests that covered all areas of his life.

“The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Pro.10:22). Jabez’s prayer erased the sorrow, and broke the hold of the ‘cursed’ name in his life. He asked for enlargement of his territory: increase in his influence and possessions, which for us could refer to business, financial and career breakthrough. The ‘nobody’ or mediocre became a person of substance. He also asked for God’s Presence, which comes with fullness of joy, pleasures, access to wells of salvation, and incontestable Victory (Exo.33:15; Psa.16:11; Isa.12:3; Rom.8:31). We need God’s presence to cover us and our blessings in our enlarged territory. Finally, Jabez asked for protection from evil, for himself, his blessings and territory; to not be afflicted or be a source of affliction to others. Like Jabez, we don’t have to live with any curses or evil situation.

Our God, the Unchangeable Changer, has a redeeming Character that turns curses into blessings! With Him, a positive change is always possible. Through prayers, we can ask Him for a change, believing, and we will return with testimonies.