All of us have painful memories. It’s just part of life. Things from our past may continue to plague us even long into adulthood. They often can function like curses pronounced by some evil sorcerer. Even as grownups we hear the ugly names we’ve been called on play grounds or the intentional or unintentional hurts administered by so-called friends. Sometimes our childhood memories bring more hurt than joy. They are curses that belittle, offend, and demean us. They do hang on, don’t they?
I love the short and simple, but profound, phrase in Deuteronomy Chapter 23, verse 5. God reminds Israel of how they were cursed by the Ammonites and the Moabites when they wanted to cross over their land. They even hired a prophet named Balaam to pronounce a curse on them that would result in failure and defeat in their endeavor to take the land.
Verse 5 says, “But the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you.” Through our faith in Christ, we too are God’s beloved children. He will turn every curse into a blessing for us too.
No wish of ill will can ever find footing in our lives unless we let it! He will turn all curses into blessings.