“You’re not going to cross the Jordan River.”

Those had to be some of the most difficult words Moses ever heard. What a disappointment after leading the Israelites for forty years!

God tells Moses to climb Mount Pisgah. Not sure how long it took. Not sure what the elevation was. But Moses gets a breathtaking view of the Promise Land. It’s the best view and clearest view of what He’s sacrificed for and dreamed about for forty years! And God tells him he only gets to see it from a distance. He doesn’t get to enter the Promise Land.

Was this the most difficult or most gratifying moment of His life?

That is the question that runs through my mind when I read about the last moments of Moses’ life. And I think the answer to that question depends on motivation. If you’re living for your own glory, your own purposes, your own accomplishments then the last moment is going to be the worst moment of your life. All ends in disappointment because all is lost.

If, however, you’re living for God’s glory, God’s purposes, God’s accomplishments, then the last moment is the greatest moment of your life. I’m not sure who said it first. Probably John Maxwell. But I think it’s true: success is sucession. Success is serving God’s purposes in your generation but seeing God’s purposes continue long after you die!

While in Williamsburg, Virginia, our family visited one of the oldest churches in America. It was founded in 1715 and it’s still a thriving congregation. As we walked around the cemetery outside Burton Parish, I found one verse on one tombstone that was hundreds of years old. The inscription says it all: “He being dead yet speaketh.” (Hebrews 11:4)

Here is the $64,000 question: are you more concerned about God serving your purposes or are you serving God’s purposes? There is a world of difference between those two motivations. What is your true motivation?