Good Enough

Spring SENIORita-Aaron Burden-Chispa Magazine

Is your life good? Is it good enough? Are you satisfied with where you are spiritually, emotionally, and relationally?

I wonder if Abram in the Old Testament thought his life was ‘good enough’ when God called him out of Ur and onto a better place.  God called Abram to leave his usual routine at Ur and go to the Promised Land, Canaan. God calls each of us, today, to promised-land living as well; living like today counts for an eternity, victorious living, living with joy and purpose, living in God’s abundance for us.

John 10:10, says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” It continues with “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

God doesn’t want us to live with the attitude that where we are is good enough if where we are is not where He wants us to be. God calls each of us to live a rich and satisfying life for him; yet many times we don’t see that as a standard reality in our lives. Why does this promised-land living seem so rare and elusive? Why do we not see more people living a life of abundant peace, joy, patience, love…?

God has done all He needs to do for us to live our lives, from today to eternity, in His perfect abundance. The reason for a lack of promised-land living lies with us. We must take action, just like Abram. You see, we need to go to this land that the Lord has prepared for us. We must take steps toward it and not fall short. We must pursue the Kingdom of God and the blessings that lie within It. Why would we not? What could possibly stop us?

Let’s look to Scripture for some answers: “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 Haran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.” -Genesis 11:3-32 NIV

Before Abram, there was Abram’s father. If you are patient enough to read through a chapter of genealogies in Genesis 11, you will learn that Abram’s father, Terah, had two sons, Abram and Haran. Haran passed away, leaving his son Lot in Terah’s care. Terah left Ur at one point headed to Canaan, but he stopped short of promised-land living both for himself and for his family. Why?

Terah’s intention was to go to the Promised Land and take all those under his authority with him. But, he came to a town named Haran and he settled there. Haran was both the name of a town and the name of his son who had died; a familiar place. It was a place with emotional ties and a place of cultural comfort where people practiced the same idol worship as in his hometown of Ur. Terah ‘settled’ for a place in life that was not God’s best. He stopped short of taking hold of the Promised Land because he found that Haran was good enough. This decision not only affected him, but his family who was with him and future generations.

Why do we stay in Ur (our Usual Routines)? Some of us never leave the comfort and familiarity of our day to day living. Our usual routines are good enough for us. Let’s look at another verse:

“”And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.'” Moses reported this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and cruel bondage.” -Exodus 6:8-9 NIV

For more of Good Enough, order your copy of the Spring 2016 issue here. 

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Chris McMahan

Chris McMahan

RedeemedRepurposed.wordpress.com
Chris McMahan makes her home in Canton, GA with Troy, her husband of 20 years, and their three kids. A former Spanish teacher, she now keeps her teaching skills sharp by home schooling her youngest child. She has a passion for teaching women from God’s Word, enjoys photography, jewelry making, and of course, writing. She currently enjoys writing a monthly column in WCN as well as a blog at RedeemedRepurposed.wordpress.com. Through her writing she finds an outlet to express how God is at work in her life. Her vignettes illustrate the truth of Scripture expressed through life’s daily events.
Chris McMahan

Latest posts by Chris McMahan (see all)

Chris McMahan

Chris McMahan makes her home in Canton, GA with Troy, her husband of 20 years, and their three kids. A former Spanish teacher, she now keeps her teaching skills sharp by home schooling her youngest child. She has a passion for teaching women from God’s Word, enjoys photography, jewelry making, and of course, writing. She currently enjoys writing a monthly column in WCN as well as a blog at RedeemedRepurposed.wordpress.com. Through her writing she finds an outlet to express how God is at work in her life. Her vignettes illustrate the truth of Scripture expressed through life’s daily events.