May 21, 2025

Minding Your Thoughts

A Biblical Overview of Obtaining and Maintaining a Biblical Thought Life

Zechariah 8:14 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the LORD of hosts, and I repented not:

In every leadership position there is a burden of responsibility that must be carried. Leaders rise or fall based upon their willingness to accept responsibility for their actions. Some who aspire to leadership think that by placing blame on others they will rise. They become like Teflon; nothing sticks to them. The ability to make difficult decisions, final decisions, and decisions which affect others is a trait all good leaders share. Those impacted by the decisions a leader makes will probably never understand why a certain decision is made, they may not like it, they may think they would have come up with a better decision, and they may even fight it, but given the same responsibility of leadership and knowing all the same information that the leader considered, they would probably come to the same conclusion. It is always easier to second guess than to be the one on the hot seat making important decisions.

As limited as humans are, we will never understand all the thoughts and actions of the Almighty and the All Knowing God in Heaven. Isaiah wrote: For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) But the leadership quality we can collectively admire about God is His willingness to think out a course of action and carry through on it as He promised. This is demonstrated an untold number of times in Scripture.

I once heard that “to lead the orchestra one must be willing to turn his back to the crowd.”  This is Leadership 101. To lead means to think, have a thought process that is fair, just and complete, then to set forth and share with followers a plan of action, and finally to see it through. Heat will come, misunderstandings will arise, and rebellion may rear its ugly head, but great leaders will take the heat, try to clear up the misunderstandings, and deal humbly with rebellion (as Moses did). Going with the crowd is not leadership. A leader is one that will dare to step out, think it out, and pull others to higher ground.

A crowd is like a section of a loose link chain. It cannot be pushed; it must be pulled by a leader. God is that kind of leader and you can be one too.

May the Lord bless and be pleased with your thought life today.

Dr. William T. Howe