influence
notes on carrying influence wherever you go…
Influence is something we carry.
Wherever we are.
Whoever surrounds us.
Even in our own lives.
It’s in the little and the big and everything in between.
It shows up in the places you show up to.
It has an impact.
It makes a difference.
So what kind of difference will you make?
You may think you have such a little audience that it mustn’t count. It does. Always.
When your audience is people, you have imperfect citizens noting what you say, the words you choose, how you treat people.
When your audience is God, you have a perfect Creator aware of what you are doing, saying and all of it.
The thing sis, is that your audience may not always be people, but it will always be God.
In church or outside of it, in your house or in the city, in university or in the OR, you have God aware of your life.
God has to influence us the most. Not people.
And while we may not call it “influencing” God, we do have a role as we pray to even impact through our Lord. We can pray to Him for something and He gives it because we were willing to ask or believe, or perhaps just because He wants to. WOW can we ever have impact.
So often impact and influence are seen as things that come with a heightened measurement of growth. Here is what I mean:
in our culture, the spread of your impact is often seen through the lense of the capacity of growth, as in do you have a HUGE social media following? You have influence then! You see this in how we call people with big followings “influencers” when the rest of social media users are usually considered just that, “social media users”. Crazy isn’t it?
Fame is often considered the measure that determines how “great” your influence will be, when in reality, we shouldn’t be dismissing the opportunity to have beautiful, good, kind & Godly influence on even a single person!
So why does influence matter if it is small?
Well,
Think about this:
Jesus talks about leaving the 99 found sheep to find the 1 lost one!
Jesus cares that much about 1 sinner, 1 person!
So should we!
Plus, maybe you want a massive following, but perhaps a small one right now means one that is full of people who just really love your work, who can challenge and uplift you, just as valuable if not more!
And while you may not be famous (or hey maybe you are!) someone out there may see the moments when you care and show up for others. We don’t do it for the applause or appreciation. But we can INSPIRE others with the way we love, it can inspire others to LOVE TOO!
At the same time as one person can have great impact for good, we must also be aware that one person can be corrupting!
One person can impact you for reasons that aren’t happy! Pay attention to who is influencing you, instead of making excuses and pretending that they aren’t making a negative impact, be sure to be honest with yourself & GOD! Sometimes this could be someone you know, but it can also be people posting online! Sometimes change is a good thing, and sometimes friendships need a moment to relax, or you need to hit the “unfollow” on an influencer who is chronically reminding you to want more!
Little Ways to Show Up
say thank you more often even when it seems borderline unnecessary
ask if someone would like you to keep them in your prayer journal for the week
share cookies with a elderly neighbour!
ask a neighbour if they could use a hand with any projects
plant flowers and share bouquets/have a sale and use 10% for God’s work!
choose to read a little extra of the Bible: maybe a extra verse or a extra chapter, or just pray a little longer
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REMEMBER!
One person may see the light of Jesus in you and it can change so many more lives!
Never discount the value of seemingly “small” impact!
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thewildflowers.
You have a way with words that make my mind goes “wow that actually makes sense”
Thank you for you influence