Just Around the Corner

But when they came to Harran, they settled there. Genesis 11:31

Abram’s father, Tereh, decided it was time for a change. He was living in Ur, probably southern Iraq with his family-Abram, Nahor and Haran. Haran had Lot but died; Abram married Sarai and Nahor married Milcah. Joshua 24:2 states that Terah served other gods.

Tereh decides to go to the Promised Land-Canaan. The trip would have been difficult; they would have traveled in a caravan for safety reasons. The idea was to go to the Promised Land but when Tereh reaches Harran he decides to stop. For him, it was an “okay” place to be-he settled for less just like we do at times.

How many times have you started something and never made it to where you were hoping to go? You wanted to be a lawyer and settled for a law clerk; you wanted to get a Master’s degree and settled for a B.S. You went to college, quit and worked in a store for twenty years. We have all come to a safe, “Ok” place and put our dreams on a shelf. Life is all about perspective. Tereh clearly lost his somewhere along the way.

Instead of pushing forward Tereh settled for less. He settled for second best when the Promised Land was just around the corner. From Haran to Canaan it was 500 miles. At a normal caravan pace (20 miles per day) it would have taken one more month to reach the original goal.

When serving Christ, we need to press forward; we can still achieve the dreams we had long ago but only with His help. Don’t settle for “almost there” when just around the corner could be your dream, your healing, your new job, etc.

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

Sharon White