Cycle Breaker

Overview

People are a product of their environment and sometimes that environment includes negative life cycles. These are behaviors, thoughts and attitudes that are passed down from one person to another through families and other relationships. The Bible teaches that those life cycles can be broken, that it is possible for people to decide to break negative life cycles and allow God to transform them into who He wants them to be. This unit uses four lessons to teach a process that must be followed when choosing to break negative life cycles. The lessons follow the life of Josiah (O.T. King of Judah) from childhood through adulthood and draws parallels from his life and decisions to our lives and the decisions we make.  

Unit at a Glance

Lesson #1 — “Knowing”

To be a Cycle Breaker I must know where I come from. 2 Chronicles 33:1-34:2

Before starting the process of breaking negative life cycles we have to know where we come from. Knowing where we come from means more than just learning about our family tree. God is the one who created us and put us into this world just like He wanted. No matter what kind of life cycle our family or friends may be in, we can choose to break those cycles in our own lives and allow God to transform us into the men and women of God He wants us to be. Josiah became king of Israel when he was only 8 years old. Although his father and grandfather were both very evil and sinful, Josiah knew that he had a godly heritage and that his life did not have to be that way. He knew that he could make choices that would make things different for him. The Bible says that Josiah lived a godly life - breaking the negative cycle that had started in his family.

Lesson #2 — “Seeking”

To be a Cycle Breaker I must see after God. 2 Chronicles 34:3-7

The first part of the process of breaking negative life cycles is to begin seeking God. Seeking God means more than just going to church or HOF and listening to stories. It means making decisions to stop actions, thoughts and attitudes that are not pleasing to God and instead having the heart to follow after and understand Him and His will for your life. Being a cycle-breaker is a choice anyone can make, no matter what kind of life cycle our family or friends may be in. The Bible says that when Josiah was still a young man (age 16) he began to seek God and started breaking the negative life cycle that had been going on in his family.

Lesson #3 — “Learn and Apply”

To be a Cycle Breaker I must learn and apply God’s Word. 2 Ch. 34:8-28

Another part of the process of breaking negative life cycles is to study, learn and apply God’s Word to our lives. Without that, cycle-breaking cannot happen. Regular time reading and learning from God’s Word transforms us by renewing our minds. Just reading it is not enough either, we must obey it and put into practice what it says. When Josiah was 26 someone brought him a Bible that had been found and after learning what it said, he began to put it into practice.

Lesson #4 — “Commitment”

To be a Cycle Breaker I must make a commitment. 2 Chronicles 34:29-33.

One more part of the process of breaking negative life cycles is to commit yourself to a new cycle - one that is pleasing to God and help others to do the same. Making a commitment that we share with other people helps us to focus on new attitudes and new ways of acting and thinking. It is important to share that with people who are also making a their commitment to be cycle-breakers because that gives us accountability. After the Bible was found and read and started to put into practice, King Josiah made his own commitment to God and also had all the people pledge themselves to the same commitment.