The Reality of Blessings and Curses

Christ was made a curse on the cross so that we might qualify for and receive the blessing. In order to receive this provision God has made for us, it is necessary that we understand the nature of blessings and curses. If we do not understand these two concepts, we will not be able to avail ourselves of God’s provision.

Both blessings and curses are major themes of Scripture. The word “bless” or “blessing” occurs more than 410 times in the Bible; the word "curse" occurs nearly 160 times. In other words, the Bible has a great deal to say about both. Both are absolutely real—so real that Jesus had to be made a curse so that we might be redeemed from the curse and receive the blessing.

Some people are inclined to think that blessings are real but curses are imaginary, or hypothetical. That is an illogical idea. If we consider any pair of opposites, it stands to reason that if one is real, the other must be real. Take day and night, for example. If day is real, then night is also real. Heat and cold—if heat is real, then cold is real. Good and evil—if good is real, then evil is real. We cannot accept one and ignore the other. So it is with blessings and curses. Blessings are real, and so are curses.

The Bible has much to teach us about the nature of blessings and curses, how they operate, how to recognize a curse at work in your life, and how to be delivered. If we remain ignorant, it will be to our own cost. We will miss much of the total provision that God has made for us through the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross if we fail to understand His exchange of blessing for curse.