He was on Horeb, and saw a burning bush. The bush was on fire but it did not burn up. So he thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” There are huge business lessons for us here.
First, his attention was needed for a very important message; he needed to be consumed by something uncommon. Second, his bravery was tested – what would he do seeing a burning bush unconsumed by fire? Third, if he passes the test, his offer letter would be signed; “I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt”.
In companies, only undistracted, focused and committed people are typically called to execute higher missions. Moses was attentive to have seen the burning bush. Are you paying attention to new market opportunities and shifts in customer preferences? Firms typically put the selected ones through tests with uncommon KPIs and targets to see how they respond. Can you stand the burning bush in the Nigerian economy and still deliver great numbers?
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Like Moses, do you go into the market or do you just give up and run away from the market burning bush? But note this: if you run from the burning bush, that CEO, Directorship, GM, etc role will not come. Yes, you have just missed an opportunity to LEAD on that role.
And to companies, just as Moses was supported, you need to support the leader once you have sent on that mission. Yes, do not send leaders on missions without support. The Lord prepared Moses and gave him assurances of support all the way. He identified the mission, and gave him a roadmap to present the mission to the elders of Israel.
Just as I AM [the highest authority] empowered Moses, firms must use high authority to communicate and support great missions. Happy Sunday.
Reference: Exodus 3:1-17 New International Version (NIV)
3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[b] will worship God on this mountain.”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[c] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[d] the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’
“This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.
16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. 17 And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’
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Our burning bushes could be the political leadership and rough business environment, but who are the Moseses here? The burning bush drew his attention, and he moved closer. The political and business spaces yearn for attention, but where are the brave ones going closer to find out why they are burning but still standing? It is by going closer that you will get the message, the support can then follow.
We like these stories but never ready to apply them in our present situations. Moses never found the mission easy, he was accused and vilified, to the point of even missing out on entering the Promised Land!
How possible is it to fix Nigeria from Canada, US or Europe? Moses could have run away, since Egypt was a dreaded place, but he took up the challenge, to liberate his own people, the God’s people!
Millions of our compatriots will never have the opportunity to emigrate to a foreign land, so what becomes their lot? We cannot leave everything for the smartest and wealthiest, we must remember those who are incapable of fighting for themselves, Moses did it for his people.
So, when next you blame the politicians, bear in mind that there are millions who never contributed to the sufferings, make the land livable for their sake!
Awesome .