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Derailed- A Dream Deferred

Did you have certain goals for your life that have not materialized? Have you ever felt like the plans you had for your self and the outcomes of your life have been derailed? My whole childhood, I groomed myself to be a medical doctor. I graduated one of the top of my class from elementary school all the way to high school. I got accepted into two reputable medical schools, got recommended for partial and full ride scholarships to three countries outside my home country to study medicine, and actually started to pursue a career in medicine by virtue of one such scholarship. Then through a series of events, I switched my majors with a hope to find my way back into medical school. 17 years later, I have settled in another career and with each passing day my career as a medical doctor becomes a distant dream…a what could have been! I know I am not alone in having a dream or life plan be seemingly derailed. Let’s look at a story from the Old testament:

One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there. Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.

Genesis 11:31-32 NLT

Terah was headed for Canaan, which was God’s promised land for the people who would come out of Abraham, the Israelites. This was land that God describes later as a land flowing with milk and honey… and Terah was headed towards his set destiny but got derailed. He stopped in Haran and settled there and there he died. His dream of a land flowing with milk and honey died with him in Haran. End of story. I could end my blog post here… he died and so did the dream of Canaan. But thank God for redemption.

I was recently introduced to the concept of redemptive thinking through a 2 minute podcast I heard from Susie Larson. I am going to explore this concept more in another post in the near future. But what I want to say about this for now is redemptive thinking is about changing the way you think and it starts by believing that God is good. When you believe that God is good, you can also believe that He works everything out for your good and for his glory. The dream of Canaan appeared to have died with Terah but it was always in the heart of God that the Israelites would possess the promised land. However, so much had to happen between when Terah had this plan and when his descendants would actually live in that land- including a name change of Terah’s great grandson from Jacob to Israel. And with each passing year, this dream became more a distant past but one day this happened…

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12:1-3 NLT

God put Abraham back on course towards the set destiny and plan! Funny enough, this dream was not Abraham’s to see fulfilled. In fact Abraham got to Canaan and there were people already there and so he had to move on. However, what Abraham had that Terah did not, was the blessing of God. God blessed him and his descendants and in so doing the dream even though was not fulfilled physically in Abraham’s lifetime, was fulfilled through his seed. The blessing of God ensured that God remembered Abraham long after he was dead and God fulfilled the promise of Canaan to him (Exodus 2:24). Abraham had a future and a hope and even though he died, the dream was preserved and fulfilled in its appointed time.

Many times we are so busy making and pursing our plans and desires that we forget to ask for God’s blessings. Other times, we forget that it is His plan for us that prevails despite our skilled planning. We forget that He is good and therefore His plans for us are good and are bringing us to His expected end… His vision of Canaan for us (Jeremiah 29:11).

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Proverbs 16:3 NIV

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 NIV

When Abraham went through Canaan, there was no mention of a land flowing with milk and honey. In fact, there was famine in the land and so he had to go to Egypt. Abraham’s version of Canaan was not God’s expected end for Abraham and his descendants. I say all this to say that our plans are not always aligned with God’s expected end for our lives and so sometimes a dream “derailed” or deferred is not necessarily a bad thing. It could be the best thing that ever happened to us. The key is to trust God like Abraham did and even when plans seem derailed, God can bring us to His expected end.

There are a few concepts that I have touched on briefly that you can spend time reflecting on: God’s purpose [will] vs our plans; the blessings of God; the function of appointed time in the fulfilment of our plans; and the goodness of God. I will end with some questions and encouragement for you: Has your life in recent times or time past felt like a winding road? Have things not been going smoothly as planned? Does your career path feel like it is all over the place? Are you feeling tossed about by the billows of life? Then may you find encouragement in this:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight [emphasis mine].

Proverbs 3:5-6 BSB
Posted on by intentional4christ

Do not settle!

Have you ever felt the passion of a dream get snuffed out and you had no desire to pursue that dream any longer? Have you lost the oomph for something that you once held so dear? Have you every given up the pursuit of some ambition? I certainly have. When I was much younger I thought I would grow up to be a doctor. Every thing I did in my childhood, my elementary, and secondary education had prepared me for this dream. In fact, I had started on the course in pursuit of a career as a medical doctor but along the way I settled for something else.

This past sunday, my pastor drew my attention to a passage of scripture that I have glossed over many a times. This is the story of Abraham’s father Terah:

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. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.

Genesis 11: 31-32 NIV

Terah had started a journey to Canaan- a land that becomes very symbolic and important to the Israelites many generations later; a land that was to be the promised land of the Israelites. Whether by his own design or by God’s divine providence, Terah had a desire to relocate to Canaan. God’s desire was for his chosen people whom he had not called out as at yet to always possess the land of ancient Canaan. That dream had been conceived in the heart of Terah and whether he knew it then or not, he had answered the call. But something interesting happens: somewhere between Ur of the Chaldeans and the promised land, Terah settles. We know from Chapter 12 that Terah settles in Harran so much so that he establishes his household in Harran and becomes a full citizen of Harran along with his entire household. He stops in Harran, he establishes himself in Harran, and finally he dies in Harran without ever making it to the promised land.

So I ask again, have you every given up the pursuit of an ambition and settled for less than? There is an interesting passage from the psalm that gives me lots of comfort in times of uncertainty with my ambitions and desires:

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 BSB

Over the years, I have come to interpret this that not just that God giving us the things we desire but also that He places those desires in our hearts in the first place- just as He may have done for Terah to motivate him to move to Canaan. As I delight myself in God he gives me desires towards my life’s ambition to fulfil the purpose for which he has called me. And so my encouragement for myself and to you dear reader is to persevere and not settle in Harran (whatever your Harran may be).

There is another great lesson to be learnt from this story that I cannot overlook, with more eternal ramifications. Just like Terah, we are only to be sojourners on this earth. Your starting point – your Ur of the Chaldeans- is your geographical location on earth but the end point – your Canaan and promised land- is in Heaven with our God and Savior Jesus Christ. Many, like Terah, have settled for the pleasures of Harran (things of earthly benefits but certainly little to no eternal ones) and have missed out on all the good things of Canaan (Heaven). Lets take a lesson from Terah… set your sight on the end goal.. persevere to the end where the reward of eternal life far outweighs any reward of the life here on earth. I leave you with a verse to ponder:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV

Yours Truly.

Shout out to Pastor Kirk Cowman of Living Hope Alliance Church.