Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as Haran, and settled there. The days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran.
Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the L ord who had appeared to him.
Observation
Abraham's father, Terah started on a journey to the land of Canaan, and took Abraham, Sarah, and Lot, with him. However, Terah, got distracted in Haran and settled down there instead. We don't know why Terah chose to settle in Haran. Perhaps Terah was tired? Or perhaps there were "good things" to be found in Terah, evening though great things were waiting in Canaan? We don't know, we just know that Terah began something that he never finished.
Abraham, however, was told to push on to Canaan. What makes this specific command interesting to me, is that Abraham comes from a lineage that didn't serve God. But something inside of Abraham knows that the one who speaks to him now is the God of the universe.
When Abraham gets to Canaan, God promises Abraham that his descendants will inherit this land. Abraham didn't question God on His promise, even though Abraham was childless and over 75, nor did he question Him because the Canaanites still lived in the land. He just decided in faith to praise God for His good promise.
Application
I ponder the faith that Abraham walked by and it is no wonder that He was chosen to be the father of many nations. He decided to break the mold of what he was used to and press into something completely unknown and trust a God he barely knew. Wow!
In me I have both Terah and Abraham. The Terah in me starts out with good intentions ready to push on to the greatness God has in store for me, but many good things come up and I find myself stopping and spending time on the good things. I never push on to the great things. Yet there are times, when God gives me a faith that moves mountains and I experience the truly great things God has in store for me. To have more of God's greatness in my life, I've got to make space to hear Him, so that I don't get caught up in the good things.
Prayer
Father, I know You have great plans for me. Plans to prosper me, not to harm me, plans to give me a future and a hope. Please help me to take the next step into those plans and into Your purpose. I don't want to get caught up in the good things, when you have great things in store for me.
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