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As disciples of Christ, we believe we are called to think and live strategically. This is because the God we serve lives and works strategically. The closer we are to Him and how He thinks, the more strategic and focused we become. God thinks from the end to the beginning and from the macro to the micro. Strategic thinking is beginning with the end in mind (see numerous Scriptures, including Revelation 13:8, which reference “the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world”).
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The earth is our training ground, not only to walk out the implications of the covenant, but to grow in relationship and maturity as we learn to be good stewards and managers of His resources. To mature in this way, we must think and live strategically!
Strategic thinking is the understanding and self-conscious awareness that gives power to what you do. It is one thing to do something by accident; it is another to be self-consciously aware of what you are doing. Self-consciousness adds power of infinite measure to what you do. You cannot reproduce an accident, but once you become self-conscious and understand the mechanisms and the principles behind it, you can intentionally recreate the same phenomenon. That is why we must become self-conscious in our thinking.
Strategic thinking is ultimately the understanding, desire, and ability to marshal and steward resources over time and effectively carry out a task. That is what God wants for all our lives and ministries—the focusing of our life force so that we move a specific thing in a pre-planned direction, and it produces anticipated, purposeful results. That is effective life and ministry! Through this focus of energy and resources, we can accomplish the goals God has established by the Spirit.
God’s mind and thinking are divine and eternal. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The words “world” and “cosmos” come from the root word, komeo, which means “to tend for in an orderly arrangement.” God so loved the orderly arrangement that He did what? He gave us His only Son so we could have eternal life. When we read that, we might think that God is just talking about the saving of souls—but He is talking about the entirety of His creation. Paul shows us that in Romans 8 when he says “the whole creation groans and travails in pain together.” Sin marred all creation, including both man and nature. Because God loves to tend and bring order to His creation, He sent His Son to die and recapture the ability for us to manage all that He created.
Strategic planning, while it does involve agendas, duties, scope-and-sequence concepts, and critical path exercises, should ultimately serve us by clarifying what is truly important. Sometimes goals and personal achievement targets for our personal lives or ministries may be contrary to our growth in Christ. Our objectives must be birthed in God, aligned with our engifted destiny, and energized by faith rather than simple ego needs or materialistic greed. This value clarification is not an exercise in psychological games; it is born through the practice of asking the right questions and regularly having reflective, quiet time before God. Through regular time of reflection and enacted practice, we can live a strategic life that leverages and stewards our time, talent, and treasure in a way that glorifies Him.
For more on Strategic Thinking, CLICK HERE to access our FREE video series, FREE handbook, FREE 6-day devotional plan in the YouVersion Bible app, as well as the complete study on MP3.