Many of the things we struggle with every day have been passed down in our family line. It's not a coincidence that we're tempted in a certain area, dealing with an addiction, or having to fight depression, low self-esteem, a bad temper. Those are spirits that keep getting passed from generation to generation. Just as we pass down physical traits, we can pass down attitudes, depression and addictions. The enemy didn't start with you; he started way back in your family line.
In the Scripture, Isaac's wife, Rebekah, manipulated her children and even instructed her son Jacob to trick their father. She lied to Isaac to get her way. Jacob turned out to be a deceiver just like her, tricking his brother, Esau, out of his birthright. Jacob's uncle Laban had the same problem. He deceived Jacob, saying, "If you'll work for me for seven years, I'll give you my daughter Rachel." Jacob worked seven years, but Laban instead gave him Leah, his other daughter, and made Jacob work another seven years for Rachel (Genesis 29).
That wasn't happenstance. There was a spirit of deception in that family. It looked as though it would continue from generation to generation. But at one point, Jacob humbled himself and admitted he was wrong, and God changed him (Genesis 32). That was the turning point. Jacob's son Joseph was just the opposite. He was a man of integrity. There is not one negative word in the Scripture about Joseph. All the generational deception, dishonesty, and manipulation stopped. What happened? God broke the curse.
I talked with a man who struggled with alcohol for over forty years. That's all he had known. His grandfather and father were alcoholics, so it was normal to him. He had tried to quit over and over. One day he heard me talking about being set free, and he said he felt something like warm oil was being poured over his whole body. From that day forward, he never touched alcohol again. What happened? The spirit that had been in his family for generations was broken.
Some of the things you're dealing with have been passed down to you. It didn't start with you, but I believe it's going to end with you. God is saying, "I'm about to break the power of the dysfunction, the addiction, the spirit of lack, the making of poor choices in your family line." This is a new day. Freedom is coming to your house. Wholeness is coming to your family line. Put your faith out there and say, "Father, thank You that You're breaking the power of every negative thing that's trying to hold me back."