Are You Stuck in Haran?
by Jennifer Slattery
A writer’s life is equivalent to white-knuckling a never-ending
roller coaster, in the dark, without a seat-belt. Only, you never signed up for
that ride, right? You chose the steady upward climb free of twists and turns,
and after ten, fifteen, maybe even twenty years of spinning; you wonder if
perhaps you’re on the wrong path. That still, soft Voice that called you into
writing has faded behind a mess of rejection, disappointment and fear. What if
you heard wrong? What if God changed His mind? Maybe He’s forgotten about you
entirely.
Or maybe you’re right where He wants you to be, following the
long, winding, equipping road towards the goal, each treacherous step, every
angst-filled tear all part of the training. What if you’re only one rejection
away from the Promised Land? Will you persevere, walking by faith and the
determination of a child saved by grace and destined for victorious living, or
will you settle in the land of Haran?
Last fall George Lakatos from
Grace Community Church in Smithville, MO gave an awesome message
(listen to it HERE).
To sum it up, the message centered on two biblical characters:
Abram (later called Abraham) and his father, Terah. Both men started in the
same place, Ur of the Chaldeans. Both men left Ur to embark on a God-ordained
journey to the Promised Land, but only one arrived. Terah, the patriarch died
at the halfway point, in the land of Haran.
Ur was a wealthy, sophisticated, comfortable city. It must have
taken great courage for the men to leave. They had no idea where they were going
or how long it would take to get there, but they had God’s promises tucked
within their tunics. These promises carried them all the way to Haran, but for
Terah, they couldn’t carry him over the hump and into the unknown.
Terah continued as long as the road was easy. He and Abram
followed along the Euphrates River, a well-traveled route with access to food
and drinking water. They journeyed on foot, each step carrying them farther and
farther from the land they knew. Day after day they marched on, the fatigue in
their legs growing with each step, their doubts warring for their allegiance.
Then they got to Haran, the halfway point, and Terah settled.
Genesis 11:31b (NLT) “He was headed for the landed of Canaan,
but they stopped at Haran and settled there.
That is a powerful verse. Terah was headed for Canaan, but
settled in Haran, where he died fifteen years later, never reaching his final
destination. Never seeing the Promised Land.
Have you settled? Are you stuck in Haran, on the halfway point
from where you were when God called you to where He wants to take you? It’s
time to leave Haran. Abram settled with Terah for fifteen years. Fifteen long,
wasted years. But he didn’t stay there indefinitely. After his father died, he
gathered his things and resumed his journey.
Jennifer
Slattery writes and edits for Christ to the World Ministries and is a freelance
editor under Tiffany Colter, the Writing Career Coach. She also writes for the
ACFW Journal, the Christian Pulse, Internet Café Devotions, and Jewels of
Encouragement and co-hosts (with five other ladies) Living by Grace, a
Faith-based Facebook community. Visit her online at http://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com.
You can also connect with her on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JenSlatte,
Twitter https://twitter.com/Jenslattery,
or Pinterest http://pinterest.com/jenslatte/.
Excellent post - and it is even surprising to know that Haran means parched, dry in Hebrew. Sometimes we settle in a parched place, not daring to move forward. This is a powerful teaching. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Heather. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I look forward to hearing from you again. God bless.
DeleteExcellent post. I have actually pondered this many times. So glad to hear you expand on it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Crystal. I'm glad you stopped by and found the post helpful!
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