We see its impact reflected in the eyes of children.
A preschooler swings a plastic baseball bat. Before she chooses her emotional response, her eyes seek her Daddy’s face.
A benevolent smile encourages her heart to try again, even if she missed. However, a look of disappointment might cause her to throw down her bat in discouragement.
When a toddler falls and skins his knee, he immediately looks for Mommy. If she smiles and says, “You’re ok,” he brushes off the dirt and dives back into the action. If Mommy looks scared or gasps, he screams and cries in pain.
Our words and facial expressions matter. How we interpret what happens around us matters. Humans crave significance and will go to great lengths to try to prove to themselves or others that they matter. Those who feel insignificant often go to even greater lengths. They may pretend they don’t care. Or they may hide their pain behind a sharp tongue. Or others may self-medicate with distractions or numbing agents.
Our world identifies Influencers by the number of social media followers. Satan leverages this cultural trend to conceal an important truth: the individual words we say, what we do, and what we believe matters—it influences others, drawing them closer to God or pushing them away.
This week I will begin leading a six-week Bible study using Lori Roeleveld’s book, “Graceful Influence.” I chose this book because it helped me realize that God uses my everyday actions to influence others, whether I know it or not.
Godly living changes things. As Lori states, “The graceful influence of an ordinary life marked by wise, godly decisions emits light that diminishes the world’s darkness.”
Too many times in recent years, I allowed myself to bemoan my ineffective social media presence. Reading this book renewed my enthusiasm to thankfully and joyfully embrace even the smallest touch God gives me with other people.
The Bible abounds with stories about women who have inspired believers for thousands of years. We know more about God because of the actions of an unwed pregnant teenager, a poor widow, sisters with different work ethics, and more than a hundred other women. None of these women took selfies or posted emojis to promote their agendas, yet their stories are better known than those of queens.
I love this statement from Lori:
“You see, our greatest problem isn’t that we don’t matter; it’s that we do. It isn’t that we aren’t significant but that our significance is hidden from us by the enemy of God, by life, and by our own doubts.”
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