Genesis 11:31 “And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.”
Introduction: It is all very good and well to have desires, goals, and plans. Generally, everyone of us has somewhere we plan or desire to get to. We often set out to get to a stage, level, point or destination. Unfortunately, that’s not enough; it is not just sufficient to have such desires or plans –no matter how pious, lofty or noble they may be. There is no point starting and not finishing; beginning and not concluding; starting up and not completing or journeying and not getting to your destination.
You have to finish what you have started. When you get up in the morning to go to work, you have to get to work, don’t you? In the same vein, when you begin a process, you have to finish that process. Every journey has a destination. So, when you begin a journey, it is expected that you will arrive at your destination, ultimately. That is what is called success –obtaining the set out goal!
Body: In our passage, a man –Terah –sets out on a journey with certain members of his family. He called them together and told them to get ready that they were heading to a place called Canaan. They set out and went on their way to this land of Canaan. On the way to this Canaan land they stopped by at a place called Haran. Because they set out for a particular place and had a destination, we expected they would continue on their way, after re-stocking and resting at Haran. But, no, Terah did not take his family beyond Haran. The record shows that he dwelt –that is, settled in this place that was not in the plan!
What happened?! Did this man not have a plan or destination before setting off? Surely, he did. He even mentioned the name –Canaan. He had a goal, but it was not met. He had a target, but failed. He had a desire, it was not fulfilled!
The problem was not that he did not have a desire or goal, nor that he did not set out to accomplish it. He had them. As we pointed out from the start, they are relevant and important, they are just not sufficient in themselves to get you to your destination or get the job done.
I will show you four reasons why people do not reach their goals or achieve what they set out to achieve.
Why goals fail:
(1) Lack of purpose –did you notice that Terah did not have a purpose to his desire or aim? The Bible says desires that have wrong purposes will not be granted (James 4:3). What do you think of desires with no purpose at all? Without a purpose, where will your drive to go on and succeed come from? You have to have a purpose to motivate you and get you doing when tiredness, obstacles and negative feedbacks arise.
Matthew 26:39 “And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
When Christ came to a point when He would rather give up His mission, His love for us and the need to reunite us with God, sustained Him and saw Him through a challenging time. That was the purpose why He came down to earth.
(2) No leader –Terah was his own boss and did whatever pleases him. He woke up one day and decided he was going to take this journey. He felt no need to consult anyone, he was the patriarch. Being a man makes him flawed and susceptible to errors and wrong judgements. There is a leader who is not subject to such errors of judgement. In fact, before you even contemplate your journey, this Leader knows what is at the destination and He can say to you “go” or “do not go”. His followers trust Him to lead them.
John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:”
(3) Becoming comfortable –what do you think Terah saw in Haran that kept him there? Could it be that the house prices there were much better than in Ur, or the job offer was simply irresistible? Whatever, it was, Haran was not the aim. If you keep abandoning goals or aims because you became comfortable with what came your way, you will not get anything completed. When you look behind, you will find a trail of abandoned projects behind you –abandoned marriages, abandoned buildings, abandoned education, etc. One man that never became too comfortable to move on was Apostle Paul. He had a prize set before him to attain, and he kept on pressing regardless of whatever he had achieved or attained. “I press” said Apostle Paul, he did not say “pressed” and now have to rest.
Philippians 3:13-14 “13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Whatever comes, your way, do not lose sight of your target.
(4) No conviction/faith –it does not appear that Terah really believed he was going to get to Canaan. He was probably wandering with the aim of settling in the first place that is convenient for him and where people who knew his late son, would not find him and remind him of the loss. When you come across certain people with conviction or faith in what they are doing, you can tell where they are headed or what they will become. This is because their conviction exudes from within. Some will begin learning the language of the place of their intended destination; those preparing for examinations will become more studious; some will change their clothes; potential spouses may begin marriage courses and like the five wise virgins prepared for eventualities.
Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
If you have not faith in what you are doing, it will be very difficult for you to achieve it. You will be easily distracted and follow any way that opens rather than the way that will certainly lead you to your target.
With the combination of these factors, failure is inevitable. Little wonder then that Terah failed to reach his goal. People in the above circumstances, like Terah, will most likely:
· Settle for less or anything –whatever glitters is gold to them and leads them to change direction
· Be easily discouraged –even for flimsy reasons and make excuses why they should not do something; excuses such as “my name was not mentioned”, or “am I the only available person”?
· Compromise –concluding that God will understand their situation; or make comments like “missing one service does not make me a sinner –we had team training”, “I had to lie or I would have lost my job. Even, David sinned and was forgiven”
· Become complacent –examples “I’ve been preaching for over 35 years; I don’t need to pray & prepare for a service” and “I achieved all those, that should suffice. I need to relax more now”.
· Doubt –any time things do not go as they expected, they start looking around for way out and thinking if they made a mistake by embarking on the project. Luke 9:62 “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Finally: Between your start point and the end (goal), a lot of things will crop up –some expected and some not. Through the process or journey, the only thing that is important is your goal. You must remain focused. Anything that is not geared toward your success can be classed as distractions.
Distractions may come as cogent reasons as in Luke 9:59 – 61 “59And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. 60Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.” But, you must be steadfast in order to reach your goal. You will reach your goal, in Christ’s name.
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” When your motive or purpose is right and Christ is your Lord or Leader, there is nothing that is beyond your reach. You will accomplish much and there is no o limits –be all you can.
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