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 Harran, they settled there. (Genesis 11:31 NIV)

Abram, who would become Abraham, the father of many nations, set out with his father, Terah, to travel to Canaan. They settled in Harran, about halfway to Canaan. A delay in your calling that God has given you does not necessarily mean that the Lord has changed his mind.

The scripture does not say why they stopped at Harran instead of completing their journey. Some commentators have suggested that due to Terah’s age, he could no longer travel. There are times where circumstances are beyond our control. Our spiritual journey is often traveled in segments that involve delay and even diversions from our intended course. In God’s Kingdom the shortest distance between two points in not always a straight line.

Unlike Abraham, who proceeded to Canaan, through delay, we often lose site of our spiritual goal. Our promised land is not just a place where we arrive on this earth or even something that we do; it’s an intimate relationship with the Creator God. God is calling us to ascend the mountain of delights to the knowledge of the Holy One. This is our Canaan land.

Often when we arrive at the valley at the foot of the mountain, we become prosperous and comfortable, and little by little, we lose our desire to climb the peak. God will allow us to do this if we so choose, but we must remember that the view of the Lord from the valley will never be as spectacular as the one from the mountaintop.

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission.  My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine.  I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University.  [email protected]