We are not defined by previous generations

'So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant.; do not be dismayed, Israel,' declares the Lord. 'I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security and no one will make him afraid. I am with you and will save you', declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 30:10-11

God brought me to this passage this evening in my search for the next verse. As soon as I read this one, I just knew that this was what God had for us tonight. Something that has long been on my heart is the issue of generational sin. Both my husband and I deal with this, although in differing degrees. He has long struggled (since childhood) with not being defined by his verabally and physically destructive father, who was defined by his father, and so on and so on. I have struggled with not being defined by a sense of loss and brokenness in my family that occurred in my adulthood. It has taken both of us many years of prayer to work through these painful situations but there are times when it is still felt.

So, the big questions: Where do we go from here? What do we do with all of our hurts and rejection, especially ones that have a generational stronghold? I feel like God is reassuring Jacob, telling him that despite all of his and Israel's past fears, insecurities, and hurts, he can have peace and security once again. We are not forever held in bondage by the hurts that happened before we were born and consequently throughout our lives. So many families are hurting and they perhaps haven't realized the power that these sins have had in their family in generations past and present. However, as believers in Christ, we can allow God to keep future generations from hurting like perhaps we have. My husband and I are determined, not that our children will never experience hurt (it is inevitable at some point in this fallen world), but that they will not sustain the same generational hurts that we have absorbed.

We are a new creation in Christ and God makes all things new. May we not be held within the fears and insecurities that the past can heap on us. Remember, we are adopted sons and daughters of Christ. He chose you to be his child. Rest in that and fear not.

Love and blessings.