Dear Friend,
Raise your hand if 2023 was a hard year for you. If you raised your hand, you're not alone.
When I finally mustered up the courage to ask God why 2023 was so difficult for many of us, He told me that He was dealing with foundations. I'm learning that foundations are like altars. If constructed properly, then what is built on top will last a long time. However, if they aren't, then the structure will fall. Yet, not all altars have to be good to be long-lasting; they have to be constructed properly.
The insight you need: 2023 wasn't a challenging year because of your enemy; it was a hard year because of God. Just as God spoke to Cain about Abel's blood crying out to Him from the ground (Genesis 4:10), the foundations that were threatening your destiny were getting louder in 2023, and God had to begin to silence them for good, which means you felt the impact. It wasn't that you were doing anything wrong; it was that you were doing things right, but there was a generational altar speaking on your family's behalf. So, to allow you to step into your new promise, God had to deal with that pesky generational altar percolating in front of your open door, threatening to keep you from entering.
Storytime: Last year, I decided to explore my family's genealogy. While I didn't do an ancestral test, I did start asking my grandparents uncomfortable questions about their potential dabbling in witchcraft and the occult. I already knew that my paternal great-grandfather was a high-degree mason and that my maternal grandmother visited necromancers and practiced white witchcraft, but that's about it. As I listened more intentionally to my grandparents' stories, I also learned that my maternal grandfather visited a witchdoctor and drank a potion to lengthen his life (and it worked), and my paternal grandmother built an altar to Mary to try to save her dying mother's life (it didn't work).
Today, we've normalized occultic practices, but they are evil and not of God. Why am I telling you this? Because God started to reveal to me that four generational altars were speaking against my future and destiny. Yes, I was obedient. Yes, I broke out of some generational patterns. Yes, He blessed me on my own merit, but there was a territory that I needed to step into that was being threatened by the decisions of my forefathers.
You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me (Deuteronomy 5:9)
Imagine it this way: In September, we crossed over into the year of the open door. While God opened several doors to us, we still have to be able to reach them to enter. This means there's a process, and we figured as much. However, many of us didn't realize that though we saw God open the doors and there was a process, there were also altars on the ground standing between us and our new season. Yes, the doors are open, but the altars' mouths opened at the same time. A strategic technicality to keep you out.
Since the spirit realm functions on systematic rules and laws, God had to deal with the altars speaking against you in 2023 to get you to your next in 2024. He had to deal with the faulty foundations in your family. He had to deal with your family's legal and generational authority.
“If the foundations [of a godly society] are destroyed, What can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3)
While your forefathers might not have dabbled in occult practices like mine, they may have done something to tamper with the godly foundation of your lineage. As a result, generations of people in your family might have risen to predictable heights and fallen to embarrassing lows because of the generational foundations. And, as a lineage descendant, you threatened the same fate.
Thankfully, God cut a covenant with you, and since you made it this far, He decided to eliminate the giants and silence the altars speaking against you. If you endured the process, the coast is now clear for you to enter the open door. Dust yourself off. Take courage. You'll never see that fight again. The fire on those altars are smothered with the blood of Jesus.
You made it. You turned the tide. You broke through.
God can now steer the family in a new direction. He's laying a new foundation this year with your agreement and assistance.
Welcome to your New Year. Welcome to 2024.
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