Anchored... In His Influence

DEVOTIONAL

“5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” — Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB

“Leadership is Influence!” I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this statement. My youth pastor, and one of my greatest mentors, ingrained this statement into all of his student leaders every chance he could, and because of his influence in my life, this statement has become a huge part of my life. Everyday, I want to do my best to influence as many people as I can in the best ways that I can!

However, as I quickly realized when I stepped into college and into ministry, it is hard to always have the attitude and the energy it takes to positively influence everyone I come in contact with. As the papers continued to pile up, and there were more and more sermons to write, I realized that it seemed impossible to put 100% into everything that I had to do. At this point in my life, influencing others positively had kind of taken a back seat to the other demands in my life.

After finishing up a mission’s trip, the mission’s team and I decided to sit down and encourage one another. As the encouraging came around to me, a number of different people talked about how there had been many times that I had done something that really impacted their lives. As I sat back and listened, I realized that the majority of these positive influences happened completely unintentionally!

It was at that moment that I realized something. The actions I take unintentionally, if they are anointed by the Holy Spirit, are always far more powerful than the intentional actions I take that are reliant on my own power.

From that point forward, I stopped putting the pressure on myself to influence everyone in a positive way. Instead, I wake up daily and commit every moment of that day to the Holy Spirit, and I ask Him to influence people through me. In all of my ways I acknowledge Him, and I trust that He is always using me to influence those around me for His glory!

CALL TO ACTION

Start this day by committing every action and every moment to the Holy Spirit. As you go through the day, be aware of how the Holy Spirit is using you. Sit back and watch Him work!

SCRIPTURE

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” — John 15-4-5 NASB