Our Promise

                                                                                                       November 24, 2010

My husband and I have been going through a process that is going to completely change the course of our lives. Processes, we have learned, can be like birthing processes. In the midst of it, you are yelling for it to stop. Sometimes the pain can seem like it is too much to bear, but as I know from my natural birthing experiences, if you can only keep your eye on the prize then it gives you hope that, in what seems like your hour of darkness, there is a light…a gift…that is waiting for you on the other side. Paul says in Philippians 4:13-14, ”I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me…” God is reprogramming a lot of our thinking, and I believe that in this time in our country the same is happening for many of you.



I heard a teaching one time on the difference between Abraham and his father Terah. In Genesis 11:31-32, Terah took his family and set out from Ur to go to Canaan, but the scripture says, that when they got to Haran, they settled there. The very next scripture says Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran. Nothing is said of Terah’s life from the time he settled in Haran to the time he died. What seems somewhat insignificant at first glance has had a major impact on me. This passage was briefly mentioned once many, many years ago in the midst of a sermon, but has stuck with me all these years and has had a huge impact on me.

After Genesis 11:32 says that Terah died, the very next scripture says

“The Lord had said to Abram,
“Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation
    and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
    and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
    and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
    will be blessed through you.
So Abram left, as the Lord had told him……they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.” Genesis 12:1-4

The scripture never says that God spoke to Terah and told him to go to Canaan. I find it very interesting that Canaan was his original destination, but he got sidetracked in Haran and never made it. God promised Abram a lot for leaving everything and everyone that he knew. Abraham following God in complete obedience despite the hardships along the way. He walked away from any life that he had built for himself because God said go. God didn’t give Abraham any specifics about leaving Haran. Really the blessings were quite general. He didn’t give Abraham dates or time frames. Abraham didn’t weigh whether it would be worth it or not…he just went simply because God said go. God honored Abraham in his complete faith and obedience.
Many times, we can weigh our options and think that it is not worth it to drop everything and completely do God’s will. Many times, we may start in the direction that God wants us to go in but then get side tracked like Terah on a different path than what God had intended even purposed for us to be on.

In the times of pain…in the times where it seems that it is too hard to even take one more step, if we can just remember that God has a plan and purpose for what we are doing. If we can be patient and completely trust in Him and in what he has promised us without putting our own human parameters on things then we will be amazed at the transformation along the journey. We too are promised the same promises/blessing that God gave Abraham above. To access those promises, we have to remain obedient and trusting in God. Had Abraham gotten sidetracked in another city…maybe found a nice valley with a beautiful river in a town that seemed to promise him endless opportunities, then Abraham may not have even been mentioned in the Bible.

We have such an incredible opportunity to do something great for God. His heart’s desire is for us to cling to Him while He pours out His blessing on us, but the two go hand in hand. I challenge you today to seek the will of God for your life and then never lose sight of the great and mighty plans that He has for you.