Listen to My Voice

JamesF. Gauss

August 21, 2026

For by wise counsel you will wage your own war,
And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.

Proverbs 24:6

Numerous sources within and outside the Trump Administration have reported or commented that President Trump does not take advice from his cabinet members or other advisors well. He would rather, it is reported, rely on his own wisdom, gut feelings, personal judgment, instincts and intuition. That is a bad place to be when you are leading the greatest nation on earth, especially when you are driven by pride and self-aggrandizement. Not a place we should desire our nation’s leader to be when he is guiding our nation’s military in an earth-shattering battle against the world’s most demonic leadership.

The biblical advice of the one of the wisest men of all history, King Solomon, is that Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). No one would likely disagree that Donald J. Trump is a man of great self-pride and arrogance.

There is, however, a distinct difference between a braggadocious spirit of pride and healthy pride according to biblical teaching and cultural norms. The former is putting yourself above others and above God. Again, in the wisdom of Solomon, God makes His position on this type of pride clear. The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate (Proverbs 8:13).

Healthy pride, however, does not offend God. One example is taking pleasure in a job well done, while acknowledging and thanking God for His wisdom and direction, those who supported or guided your efforts and your ability to learn from others. Healthy pride can also be simply knowing that in God’s view you have self-worth and purpose in life and that He will guide you in all His ways, if you listen to Him.

A case in point: Dov S. Zakheim is a Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, reported on September 10, 2019, that during President Trump’s first administration, he notoriously fired his third National Security Advisor, John Bolton in September 2019. Why? Because Bolton stood against Trump’s plan to invite “Taliban leadership and Afghanistan’s head of state Ashraf Ghani to the presidential retreat known as Camp David.”

“Bolton had opposed the meeting,” Zakheim wrote, “arguing that if Trump’s objective was to create an environment for withdrawing American troops after 18 years of war in Afghanistan, he did not need an agreement with the terrorist gang in order to do so. Nevertheless, despite having worked directly with the president for nearly a year and a half, he apparently still failed fully to appreciate what motivated his boss.”

The War with Iran. It has been almost six months since President Trump engaged the Iranian regime in a “war” that was to last only a few weeks. His strategy has changed so often it must be giving his military leaders neck cramps from rapid head turning on Trump’s next decision or direction. America’s military leaders do not have control of the objectives or military strategy of this potentially earth-shattering engagement.

Once again, King Solomon advised: Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established (Proverbs 15:22). Even among casual observers Trump is driving the strategy on America’s Middle East and Iran war conflict. It has become so haphazard that, in the eyes of the Iranian regime, he is a laughingstock and weak leader. That is why they keep holding on to their diabolical End Times ideology of world conquest. America’s other enemies (chief among them, China, Russia, North Korea and Turkey) are taking good notes on Trump’s indecisive leadership and his pursuit of “The Deal” at all cost.

Where there is no counsel, the people fall;
but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

Proverbs 11:14

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus, who was not a great military general, just the Son of God, offered this wisdom for those who were considering the cost of following Him.

Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace (Luke 14:31-32).

Jesus was not offering military advice, but if taken as such, the point is clear and followed by military strategists from the beginning of time. No wise leader goes into battle without fully assessing the nature and capability of the enemy he is about to engage and to be fully committed to all out victory.

America and its allies were able to do that during World War II and were victorious. The free world was unified in combatting the evil of Nazism and the Third Reich, as well as Imperial Japan at the same time. Viet Nam, however, was a military disaster because America’s objective was never clear, nor was the military free of political interference. It resulted in an embarrassing retreat and defeat of the “powerful” American forces by a ragtag army of jungle warriors that had no air force, navy or significant armor.

However, as the war with Iran drags on, it is the Trump-instituted agenda that remains unclear and not singularly focused. There is no question that the President has a lot on his plate to try to balance and make decisions on. That is why God gave him skilled advisors and staff, and why God is the ultimate source of any wisdom, especially in difficult times.

President Trump still has no understanding of the diabolical, Islamic ideology driven leadership of Iran. In their minds they can never be defeated because they see this as a war of Islamic End Times proportions to usher in their mythical 12^th Imam or Muhammad al-Mahdi. They firmly believe that with his return, along with Jesus, he will kill all Jews, crush the cross of Christ (Christians) and turn over the rule of the world to Muslims. Iranian Muslims (and Muslims in general) do not believe in surrender. Yet President Trump continues to pursue “peace” with them. All he is doing is demonstrating to Iranian leaders and the world, is that he is weak, ineffective and indecisive as a leader. That is why America’s allies abroad are reticent to join in the battle and what gives Iran’s leaders continued strength and belief that they have the upper hand and are winning this battle of Good vs. Evil.

Remember what Jesus counseled in Luke 14? If a leader does not think he can win the battle, he keeps pursuing the enemy for peace. Trump’s constant pursuit of peace with Iran’s demonic leadership only illustrates his weakness and unwillingness to carry on the war to complete victory. Therefore, Iran’s leaders believe it is they who control this war and will be the ultimate victors. Only weak leaders, they surmise, pursue peace before victory over an enemy. It is supposed to be the vanquished enemy that begs for peace, not the victorious.

President Trump and his many advisors (cabinet and spiritual) would do well to listen to this short testimony/biblical teaching, Listen to My Voice, by attorney David Gibbs, Jr.

President Donald Trump would also do well to follow this admonition of God Almighty:

Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
and apply your heart to my knowledge;

 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you;
let them all be fixed upon your lips,

 So that your trust may be in the Lord;
I have instructed you today, even you.

Proverbs 22:17-19

Final Word. So, what should God-fearing Christians do? Apostle Paul gave this instruction to his protégé, Timothy. Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

The greatest strength and power that the followers of Jesus Christ have is the power of prayer that is woefully under used by the Church in America. We are to pray often and continually for our leaders at all levels, including those in our government, judgeships and in the Church.

To the Thessalonians and Christians, Paul wrote: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

In Paul’s teaching on the Armor of God in Ephesians 6:11-18, he concludes with, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

Recommended Reading. Islam’s Deceptions, Lies & False Gospel