Have you identified your personal sphere of influence? Each of us has one. Our influence may build up or it may tear down–that’s our choice. Every day, each of us shares influence in our exchanges, whether with strangers or family or friends.
ARE YOU INTENTIONAL?
Many of you know my story…how I wrote a book on our thought lives and self-published it in December, 2019; then submitted the manuscript to three publishers, two of which accepted it. I signed a contract with Christian Faith Publishers on January 6, 2020, and here we are—a year later—with MindGames…Winning the Battle Without Losing Your Mind NOW AVAILABLE from all major retailers, in all the English-speaking world! Click here to see more details.
That sounds like kind of a big deal, but it’s really not, unless you’re a New York Times or Amazon best-selling author…but I’m not.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m very proud of how my book turned out, but I didn’t write this book in order to try and become well-known or wealthy. No, I wrote this book in the hopes of passing on very valuable truths that have changed my way of thinking and in the process, changed my life!
I want others to experience this life-change as well, so by getting this book published, it sits on a larger platform than if I only talked about it with my dearest friends and family.
THE PROBLEM
I know the subject of our thought lives is a very hot topic today. Over the past two years while my book was being published, several of today’s top thought leaders in the Christian world, such as Jennie Allen, Craig Groeschel, Christine Caine, and Lysa Terkeurst, to name a few, have published works on the same topic. There’s a demand for knowledge about how to manage our thought lives.
Who am I to compete with these well-known authors? There’s no way!
Right there is where the comparison begins, and I’m sure God remembers I’m just an average, ordinary person with a little platform of 300+ followers, very small by today’s standards.
But still, when I pray about it, reminding God about my averageness (not to mention my age), God continues to speak in messages like, “Write this book. I’ll take care of the rest. You’re going to say the same things in a different way, and it will resonate with some who are not reading other writers.” Additionally, on several occasions when I was not even thinking about it, I ran up on specific scripture passages at random times, like Colossians 4:17 and 2 Timothy 4:5, saying, “Be sure to carry out the ministry the Lord gave you.” (You know, those times when the words jump off the page??)
Huummm…
On top of all that, here’s one that strongly gets my attention: Romans 12:3, Don’t “think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith.”
Wait—“think with sober discernment”—okay, I read this as “don’t be conceited, but be truthful about yourself.”
And what does this mean, that God has given each of us a measure of faith? Our faith is doled out individually by God? That’s sobering!
BREAKING IT DOWN
So, God measures out faith individually. You can read more about this in 1 Corinthians 3:10 and 7:7.
As I continued to dig deeper, I saw a word I have never before noticed. That’s because this word is only used four times in the whole New Testament: three in 2 Corinthians 10:13, 15, 16, and once in Galatians 6:16. Paul, speaking of his own ministry, states his commitment to live out his ministry in the “sphere” laid out for him by the Lord. He would not be concerned with the spheres of others—only his own sphere.
In this context, Paul has met with opposition from false teachers infiltrating the Corinthian church. That’s another whole story unlike mine, but the takeaway is the same for everyone who has chosen to follow the way of Christ.
This may not be news to you, but follow this path with me.
Let me lay it out with these biblical references for your convenience:
- God determines the time and the place, the era and the area, where each of us is born [Acts 17:26]
- God allots to each person a measure of faith [1 Corinthians 7:7; Ephesians 3:7, 4:7]
- God distributes specific gifts to specific individuals [1 Corinthians 12:11]
- Every believer in Christ has been given a ministry [2 Corinthians 5:18; 10:13]
Now let’s personalize it:
- God placed you in this time, in this place.
- God planted faith within you.
- God gifted you personally for the life—the ministry–He has designed for you.
THE TAKEAWAY
Next, ask yourself:
- If the faith I have is a gift from God, how am I to participate with His gift?
- Where is my sphere of influence and who does it include?
Is your sphere your family? Is your sphere your work associates? Is your sphere your circle of friends? Is your sphere the neighborhood where you live your life?
Yes! Your sphere is wherever you are.
Paul’s use of the word “sphere” in 2 Corinthians is defined as “a definitely bounded or fixed space within the limits of which one’s power of influence is confined; one’s sphere of activity”.
Your sphere of influence is identified in your sphere of activity.
Who is standing in your sphere? What is the ministry God has designed for you? Don’t let that scare you! The bottom-line purpose of every Christ-based ministry is to demonstrate the character of Jesus where you are—right here, right now.
“I don’t have any gifts, and I sure don’t have a ministry.” This was the immediate reaction of one of my friends after reading the words of 2 Corinthians 5:18.
I challenged her with, “Yes you do.” (After all, the Bible doesn’t lie, right?)
She argued, “No, I don’t. I am not a teacher, I cannot sing, I don’t speak in front of groups. I’m just a regular person. I do not have a ministry.”
Having been friends with her for awhile, I previously observed several gifts in her, but she could not see them in herself. Finally, through much prayer and asking God, she realized that these scripture passages did include her. She just had not yet identified what God had placed within her and planned for her.
Looking back, we identified specific ways when God used her gifts in the past to influence others toward Him. And through the process of her prayers, asking God to reveal to her the sphere where He had placed her, she concluded she was absolutely right: she is not a teacher as we know it, and she cannot sing a lick, LOL!
All kidding aside, through that process, she came to the full understanding that God has called her to individual relationships for mentoring, truth-telling and guiding one-on-one. She possesses supernatural discernment with individuals, then supernaturally coaches them through their issues, bringing them to a place of supernatural transformation.
Over the years, I have had the privilege of watching her take debilitated others by the hand, teach them truth, and lead them out of anxiety into courage, from worthless esteem to excellence, from stumbling crippled by lies to standing firm in truth.
These are supernatural life-changing transformations, and to a person, each will tell you they are completely different from when they began their friendship with her. That kind of life-change only comes from the supernatural power of God. And very often, He uses supernaturally-gifted people to spring to life His supernatural power in another.
LET’S GET PERSONAL
How do you minister in your sphere? Some are called to be out front, like public speakers, musicians, teachers and group leaders. Others minister behind the scenes, performing a service, one-on-one mentoring, counseling, excelling in friendship, training children to become healthy adults.
Ministry wears a different face on different folks.
If how you live your life points others toward God, then you are functioning within the ministry God has designed for you in this place at this time.
You’ve heard the saying, “more is caught than taught”. My mom often said, “Your actions speak so loud I can’t hear what you’re saying.”
There is truth in that, but it’s not everything…it’s only the beginning. Living strong in purpose is not solely achieved in the things we do—it starts in the heart. Many times, our actions and attitudes reflect brightly before we ever open our mouths. So it’s highly important we speak truth in our hearts (Psalm 15:1-2) before we share truth with our mouths.
I was once encouraged by a speaker to “Allow the character of Christ to be so attractive in you, He is irresistible to everyone with whom you come in contact.” (Sorry, I cannot remember the name, so cannot share the source, but I give him credit:)
And I like the way cultural apologist, Dr. Jim Denison words it: we must “earn the right” to be heard by those in our sphere of influence. Truly, if we are not attractive with our lifestyles, we sacrifice influence in our spheres.
TAKE THE LEAP WITH ME
So, how are you doing? Are you like me, comparing yourself with a standard other than God’s, before you move forward in the sphere in which God has placed you?
I’m jumping off that Comparison Train. Will you take that leap with me?
In the next blog post, I’ll share with you the confidence I’ve found about making that leap into the sphere provided by God.
We can totally support each other when we share!
In the comments below, let me know who you see standing in your sphere.