Genesis 11:31-32 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.
You know what? I have read these verses before a few times but I never really the reality of this verse until it was pointed out to me last week. Take a moment and reread these verses. Terah was headed to Canaan, but he settled in Harran. Did you get it yet? Canaan was the promised land God gave to the Israelite's. Canaan was the promised land. It was a land flowing with milk and honey. It was a special place God chose for His people. But Terah never got to Canaan because he settled in Harran, He settled! He stopped his journey and settled. He basically gave up his dream. He lived 205 years and died in Harran. He died where he settled. Are you going to die where you have settled? Are you going to be like Terah and give up on your dreams?
What if Terah had made it to Canaan? Would that have made a difference in his life or the life of his family? The sort of funny thing about all this is many years after they had settled God told Abram (Abraham) to take his wife and leave Harran and his family. God did not want them to live in Harran, He had a better plan, a better place. Would Terah's life have been different if he had continued on to Canaan? We will never know because he settled. Okay maybe there were extenuating circumstances. Maybe there was a list of excuses a mile wide, but maybe, just maybe Terah could have made it Canaan if he had tried harder. I don't know the what if's of the if only's but I know that things could have been different if he had not settled where he did.
Where have you settled? What comfort zone are you afraid to step out of? Is the gear shift of your body in park? It's time to put your car in gear, it's time to step out of your comfort zone. It's time to stop settling and go all the way with God. I know for me personally I have settled. I have allowed myself to slip into my comfort zone, put my body in park and settle. I get tired, I get frustrated, I get upset, I get sad. It's so much easier to sit and turn on the stupid TV and watch mindless garbage instead of reading the Bible or a book that can help me be a better me. It's so much easier to park at the point of my pain and never let it go. It's so much easier to have pity parties and make excuses for myself. It's so much easier to live with a chip on your shoulder, expecting the world to commiserate with you. It's so much easier to put the car in park and settle where you are than take a risk of getting hurt or damaged.
I've discovered that when we settle, there is something in our soul that dies. Our hearts fills with regrets and we bury ourselves in our comfort zones. That dream, that hope, that vision of what could be dies. We become lazy and physically sick. Our hearts become hard and distant. Sometimes we become depressed and jealous. As we settle, we lose focus on what's really important and we focus on ourselves. The risk far out weighs the rewards right? Wrong!!!
Life is a journey and if we settle we may never be able to experience the joy waiting for us just around the corner. As we travel through this life there is so much joy awaiting us, yet for some of us we have chosen to stop, settle and focus on the pain. To me that's like taking a car ride to the Grand Canyon and stopping because the road is too long and the journey too rough. If we knew the Grand Canyon was right around the next turn, would you keep going? Or settle? "Well, we got close at least." Listen close only counts in horseshoes, not life. You have no idea what is lying just around the next bend in the road. If we stop and settle we just may miss our promised land.
God has a plan for each and every one of us. His plans for us is not like anyone else's. Our promised land may not look like our brother or sister, but than again maybe it can be similar but we just gave up and settled too quickly. Where have you settled? It's time to put that car in drive and go all the way through with God and finish the journey He has for you.
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