End In Mind
Blog October 6, 2020
Dr. Jorge Valdés
”Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, ‘Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (Deuteronomy 31:7-8)
Moses believed that God would lead Joshua and the Israelites into the Promised Land. They believed that their God had an end in mind for them, and they shared in the vision of “the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them.” Moses did not cross over the Jordan into this, let’s say, “end-in-mind land,” but Joshua was the one who went on to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.
When you have an end in mind, the vision of it guides your next steps forward. However, if you have no ultimate goal in your business or personal life, you are likely just wandering. In a sense, you are not going anywhere, even though you may always be moving and always staying busy. You are not aware of your “promised land.”
When you are running a business, you want to envision what your “promised land” is. It may be a certain size company or hitting a certain revenue figure or buying a building to be your new offices or building an amazing product that customers want.
It may be capturing a certain percentage of the market your company competes in. You have an end in mind. And once you reach it, you possess it and fully occupy it. We can learn from this story of Moses and Joshua with the Promised Land that you need to cross over something that may have its risks, challenges, and setbacks.
You may need to make tough business decisions before crossing over to your promised land in your crossing. You may need to endure criticism before you can cross over. You may need to manage the uncertainty and ambiguity as you cross over. But because you know where you are headed, and you have declared it yours by faith – the end in mind – then you will find yourself being “strong and courageous.”
Sometimes, like Moses, a leader takes the “company” only so far, and then another leader, like Joshua, needs to be risen to take the company the “last mile” to the promised land. You may be Moses-like and are called to take a business or organization to a certain point, and then you will hand it off to another leader who has been prepared and will be ready for the” cross over.” Just remember that it’s not about you. It’s about the people you are leading. Sometimes I pray, Lord, help me keep the end in mind and not get distracted by unimportant things that try to take my eyes off the promised land, which You have laid out for me and the people I am leading (including children) and influencing.
In the long term, what is the “end in mind” that drives you to do what you do or what inspires you to want to make changes so that you can reach this “end”? Are you seeking to provide for the financial security of your family? Build a business that will propel others into prosperity? Or, do you want to guide the education and character development of your children? What is your “promised land” that will be a blessing?
GOD BLESS,
Jorge
