---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The statesman's task is to hear God's…"
description: "\"The statesman's task is to hear God's footsteps marching through history, and to try and catch on to His coattails as He marches past.\" — Otto von Bism..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e80/otto-von-bismarck-3444_coattails_the-statesman-s-task-is-to-hear-god-s-fo_2096651.png"
---

#  The statesman's task is to hear God's footsteps marching…

![“The statesman's task is to hear God's footsteps marching through history, and to try and catch on to His coattails as He marches past.” quote by Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e80/otto-von-bismarck-3444_coattails_the-statesman-s-task-is-to-hear-god-s-fo_2096651.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e80/otto-von-bismarck-3444_coattails_the-statesman-s-task-is-to-hear-god-s-fo_2096651.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e80/otto-von-bismarck-3444_coattails_the-statesman-s-task-is-to-hear-god-s-fo_2096651.png)

> “The statesman's task is to hear God's footsteps marching through history, and to try and catch on to His coattails as He marches past.”

[Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Leaders must interpret divine influence in history and align actions with it

**In simple terms:** Listen for divine guidance in events and follow it

Key Takeaway

Seek alignment with higher purpose in governance

Themes

leadership faith historical destiny

Mood

reflective inspirational

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- statecraft
- religious reflection
- policy making
- historical analysis

Key Concepts

theology political philosophy determinism

Questions to Reflect On

- Do leaders truly hear divine footsteps?
- How to balance faith and pragmatic governance?

A Different Perspective

Overreliance on providence may ignore practical constraints

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Coattails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coattails/) [Footsteps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/footsteps/) [Footsteps Marching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/footsteps-marching-4170130/) [God Footsteps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-footsteps-2564354/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/march/) [Marches Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marches-past-4170132/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Statesman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statesman/) [Statesman Task](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/statesman-task-4170131/) [Tasks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasks/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/)

## Related quotes

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> [A statesman... must wait until he hears the steps of God sounding through events, then leap up and grasp the hem of His garment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/a-statesman-must-wait-until-he-hears-the-steps-of-god-sounding/)

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> [When we think back to our forefathers, with their sedentary lives of forest-chopping, railroad-building, fortune-founding, their fox-hunting and Indian taming, their prancing about in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/when-we-think-back-to-our-forefathers-with-their-sedentary-lives-of/)

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> [We would be 1,500 years ahead if it hadn't been for the church dragging science back by its coattails and burning our best minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-fahringer/we-would-be-1-500-years-ahead-if-it-hadn-t-been-for-the-church/)

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> [ Hillary \[Clinton\] wins in a landslide, \[Donald\] Trump has no coattails, the Democrats are gonna win the Senate, they're close to winning the House… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/hillary-clinton-wins-in-a-landslide-donald-trump-has-no-coattails-the/)

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> [You know, Salma Hayek is a great cook, and she's a friend.. She's an amazing cook. If she opened up a restaurant, I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-keener/you-know-salma-hayek-is-a-great-cook-and-she-s-a-friend-she-s-an/)

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> [I was always a fan but me and Kevin Pattero, he was a friend of mine who trained for the Olympic games in 1972 …](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-flair/i-was-always-a-fan-but-me-and-kevin-pattero-he-was-a-friend-of-mine/)

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> [ I believe the gay community is a good group of people but with groups like NAMBLA \[a pedophile group\] riding on their coattails. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-chambers/i-believe-the-gay-community-is-a-good-group-of-people-but-with-groups/)

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[Aziz Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-ansari/)

> [I didn't jump onto anyone else's coattail and ride their wave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shia-labeouf/i-didn-t-jump-onto-anyone-else-s-coattail-and-ride-their-wave/)

[Shia LaBeouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shia-labeouf/)

## More by Otto von Bismarck

> [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/)

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> [“The Balkans aren't worth the life of a single Pomeranian grenadier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/the-balkans-aren-t-worth-the-life-of-a-single-pomeranian-grenadier/)

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