In the Bible there is a story about a man named Terah. Terah is known for several things.
- Being the father to three boys Abram, Nahor and Haran
- He was a man who had to bury his own son who preceded him in death
- That he was a man that took in his grandson (Lot) to care for him after the death of Haran
- Terah left his home and took with him his son Abram, and his grandson with the intent to go into Canaan.
- Terah having gone ½ ways to Canaan stopped in Haran and eventually died there. (If you look at a bible map of the region at the time, you will see this.)
You can read his story in Genesis 11:31, 32
The Bible does not tell us why he stopped in Haran. Nor does it tell us what prompted him to go to Canaan. All we know is that he never completed the journey. Perhaps Haran reminded him of his son, and of his daughter in laws father, and his other son Nahor. Maybe he was not physically strong enough to continue the journey, we can only speculate.
In the end a journey that was supposed to bring him to a certain place was shortened. Moreover, in this place of being halfway, a place where accomplishment had only reached the 50% mark. It was in this place of contentment, to settle, a place of remembrance of the past, and a place where loved ones had died; that God spoke to Terah’s son to complete the journey that Terah started. To dwell in the land of Canaan.
The lesson here is not a complex one. It doesn’t matter what internal or external sources made Terah, and or you stop before you completed the task. What matters is that you do not settle and die at any place less than the goal. If you have breath still you can complete the goal. If you can’t make it, surround yourself with people who like the man who couldn’t walk had friends hoist him through a roof to see Jesus. If you lack resources then be like the widow woman in the old testament who had to go borrow pots. Sometimes the only thing stopping us is us, and when Jesus comes along the only question he can ask is,”wilt thou be made whole?” But whatever you do, don’t die halfway there. That’s not the place your to give up the ghost. Enter into the rest that God has prepared.
There are journeys that we are to take in life. Often the journey is not just for us but for those with us and for those who will follow after. Let us not be weary in well doing for we shall reap a harvest if we faint not. I know what it is like to faint and give up and I know what it is like to press on. I believe as long as you do not settle in Haran, God will give you the strength to make it to Canaan.
In fact if you have stopped I believe God is still calling you to continue onward to your Canaan. I believe there is an inner yearning to go to Canaan. To take our loved ones with us. Some will fall short. Others simply wont make the journey, and some cannot make the journey with us.
Don’t just go halfway, press on, and go into Canaan.
Donovan
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