Find a way to keep moving on.

You may not know what tomorrow will bring, but you are content to move forward into it, knowing that He who has the details will show you when it is needed. That wasn’t true for a man called Terah.

“This is the account of Terah’s family line. Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. ²⁸ While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. ²⁹ Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. ³⁰ Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive. 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 Harran, they settled there. ³² Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran. The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. ² “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. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” ⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. ⁵ He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. (Genesis 11 v 32- 12 v 5)

Terah has been experiencing grief. His brother, Haran, had died in the family homeland of Ur. Sarai, his wife, was unable to conceive. The whole family had begun a journey to a better place to live, but upon arriving in Harran, they settled there and did not move on. Here, his father, Terah, dies.

Grief and disappointment can be catalysts to move, but also to be unable to move anymore. How many times do we sadly hear a family say after an inquest to some reporter, ‘we request you leave us alone so we can move on’, or who are battling for justice after decades, saying, ‘we haven’t been able to move on’.

Terah died neither in the place of his origin nor in the place of his dreams. He had let go but had not taken hold. Many leave, but some never arrive.

Strangely and sadly for him, Terah passes through the place of his son’s name, Haran, the son who died. He cannot get past that place. He cannot move on. He had said goodbye to his son before, and now he is stuck and cannot move away again. His grief and loss capture him, and he dies there in Harran.

It is an unfortunate story, all too prevalent today.

We must continue to do all we can to move on from hurt and loss.

It’s not how you start that is important, but did you get to where you started? Was Harran worth it?
Harran proves you did move, you did set out.
Harran is along the way to where you are meant to be.
Harran has many qualities.
Haran is satisfying enough to tempt you to remain in it.
But on your deathbed, you will look into the eyes of your children, and they will know whether you made it or whether you settled.
God still sends. So, wherever you are today, are you feeling the sending of God behind you? Are you moving purposefully? Are you heading in the right direction? Are you still on mission?

Maybe you have failed to set out truly. Like Abraham, for all kinds of reasons, family or otherwise, you settled. You obeyed, but it was a halfway obedience. Looking back, you see you didn’t obey fully. However, today many things may have changed, but you can still do what Abraham did: you can abide by now, you can say YES to God now, and give Him all of your life. You can trust in God. Even if you don’t know all the details, you will not let your grief and loss hold you back any longer. This can be a new day of faith.