“Settling”

Genesis 11:31

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 Haran, they settled there.

I Corinthians 9:24 & 27

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize!  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

It is so easy to just “be average”.  To only do those things that are expected of us and not do any more.  To just “settle”.  That is what defines so many in our world today…and sadly defines so many Christians.  That is not what God has called us to.  He wants so much more from us…but are we willing?  Whether we realize it or not our “settling”  affects more than just us…

This passage in Genesis gives us a small snapshot into the life of a man named Terah, Abram’s father.  This verse says that Terah took his family and headed out for Canaan.  But, instead of staying the course…Terah stopped along the way.  And where he stopped is very significant.  He stopped in Haran…which in the Hebrew means “parched and barren”.  Not only did he stop there, he stayed there and he died there.  Only after Terah was gone did Abram pack his bags and head out for Canaan once again.

What in the world could have made this man stop in a land that was “parched and barren” instead of going on to the “land flowing with milk and honey”.  We don’t know the answer to that question…but we are forced to answer that same question every day of our lives.  And we don’t answer it with words, but with our actions.  Each and every day of our lives we choose whether to “settle” or “run for the prize.”

We make decisions regarding our integrity, our word, our motives, our goals, our marriages, our work and most importantly with our God.  Will I settle and not go the second mile when someone has hurt me, will I settle and break a promise out of convenience to myself, will I settle and spend money I don’t have when I said I wouldn’t, eat that thing that I promised myself I could do without, sleep a little longer instead of getting up and spending time with God, work on the computer or talk on the phone instead of spending time with my children,  and in my case stay in that place of grief that keeps me from moving forward.  Or will I determine that I MUST run the race…no matter what the cost.  That I will not “settle” and end up dying to a life that God has planned for me?

One of the scary things about this passage in Genesis is that Terah wasn’t the only one that settled in Haran.  Those that he took along were there with him…in that parched and barren place.  There will be people in our sphere of influence that will be affected if we decide to “settle” in our lives, instead of “running”.  We each have those that we influence…husbands, wives, children, grandchildren, friends, people in the work place and even those that only see us for brief periods in stores, gas stations, school, the gym, and in our cars.  I notice people when I am out in the world…I watch as they talk to their children, interact with clerks, pump their gas, put away their grocery cart (or not) and drive their cars.  So I know that when I do those same things, people are watching me.  They are seeing whether I am settling into a place that is parched and barren…and they also will see if I am RUNNING.  They WILL notice if I am “barren” like the world or “running” like Christ.

Running to get THE prize!  Not stopping in Haran…but moving forward with God.  No matter how hard it may be at the moment.  I may not feel like running…it may be all I can do to put one foot in front of the other…but I will, by the grace of God continue to move forward.  The prize waits…and every day that I keep going is one step closer to that prize.  But, one glorious thing about God is that there is also a prize in the journey itself.  By not stopping and “settling”, He gives us what we need to continue the journey.  Moving us closer and closer to what He has called us to become in this life.

Keep going dear one…keep moving…don’t settle…the prize is before us…I can see it now!

Sending Much love,

Debbie

This entry was written on July 10, 2010 at 12:31 am