Influencing
Influencing, how everyday faith shapes others in the shift
Even on hard days, someone is watching how we rise, how we rest, and how we return to God.
What is spiritual influence?
Spiritual influence is the daily way your life points people to God; it grows through accountability, surrender, and consistent presence, not through titles or perfection.
Table of Contents
Intro, why influencing matters
Fam, welcome back to SHIFT. In our last two episodes, we began breaking down the acronym SHIFT. We talked about seeing and hearing. Today, we focus on the third letter, I, which stands for influencing. I am presenting SHIFT as an acronym, so it will live deeper in you, so you will remember the weight and beauty of what a shift really means. Here is the heart of today. Even on our hardest days, even in the dark, we are shaping someone’s faith. Someone is watching how we rise, how we rest, and how we return to God.
A story about Mama and the manual car
Shifting is an opportunity to influence. When I was sixteen and learning to drive a straight shift for the first time, I remember sitting in that car, frustrated with the process. I was not showing the best version of myself. Some of you call that being lippy, some call it talking back. In the South, we call it being sassy-mouthed.
Mama let us speak our minds, but with respect. When we crossed the line, she gave that look that said, find some get right, quick, fast, in a hurry. On that first day, I crossed the line, and there was a storm of anger and frustration, then Mama checked me. After she checked me, we sat quietly. I moved past the emotions that had spilled everywhere, and I remembered who she is. Her tenacity, her fire, her strength and strategy, her faith in our God. I had been acting out of fear; she had already shown me what courage and faith look like. I dried my tears, put on my big girl pants, and started the car with new determination, the same determination I had seen in her many times.
A sacred window into our home
Our oldest daughter lives with complex health conditions that began at four years old with type 1 insulin insulin-dependent diabetes. Now in her thirties, she lives with partial blindness, has had a pancreas transplant and two kidney transplants, a rare autoimmune disorder, and high-functioning autism. We have spent more hours than I can count in hospitals and emergency rooms. Pain, sickness, and fatigue can make it hard for her to be her best. As her primary caregiver, while working, leading, and managing our home, there have been many moments when it is hard for me to be my best as well.
God keeps teaching me what influence really is. Influencing is not perfection. It is accountability that owns mistakes and tries again. It is tenacity and resilience that whisper, one more step. It is surrender, going to God in neutral to rest and receive. Neutral is like the indicator light on your dashboard; it tells you to go to the Source. Do we always leave neutral with the answer we want, no. We often leave with peace and clarity, while God prepares us for what is next. Neutral is praise in difficult moments, not because everything is good, but because God is good. That honest life permits others to live honestly, too. Not just the highlight reels, but the behind-the-scenes footage, the part where we own it and try again.
Teaching and insight
Your life preaches, especially in the dark. People may forget our words, but they remember our ways, how we speak when we are tired, how we pray when we are scared, how we apologize when we miss it.
Influence is atmosphere, not platform. You set a climate of faith in kitchens, waiting rooms, car lines, meetings, and checkout lines. Your steadiness can be someone else’s shelter.
Accountability over appearance. Leadership is not pretending you are fine. Leadership tells the truth, makes repairs, and chooses growth.
Neutral is holy ground. Pause, breathe, align with God, then respond. Reactions turn into responses.
Praise is a posture. Praising God for who He is reframes the moment and releases courage.
Practical steps for this week
Influence audit, ten minutes. In the last seven days, what did your words, tone, and habits teach the people around you? Write three honest lines.
Model and repair. If you blew it, own it. Say I am sorry, no excuses, how can I repair this?
One visible virtue. Choose a fruit to practice daily: patience, gentleness, encouragement, or self-control.
Praise in place. When the wave hits, speak out loud, God, I praise You for who You are, sit in that for sixty seconds.
Neutral appointment. Schedule a fifteen minute reset, praise, Scripture, silence, and one obedient step.
Lift as you climb. Text someone in a storm, I am praying right now, how can I carry this with you?
Real life connections
Family. Your people do not need a flawless hero; they need a present heart who prays, apologizes, regulates, and tries again.
Work. Culture shifts when one person chooses clarity over gossip, excellence over excuses, compassion over cynicism.
Friendships. Be the friend who checks in, prays first, and keeps confidences, steady love disciples more than speeches.
Church and community. Show up early, serve quietly, celebrate others loudly, accountability is welcome here.
Your being. Advocate with patience, ask for help when you feel stretched, practice micro rest, and your humility teaches strength.
Scripture anchor
Proverbs 27 verse 17, ESV
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
Here is the real: iron cannot sharpen itself. It takes another piece of iron making contact, sometimes with friction and sometimes with sparks, for both pieces to grow sharper. That is relationship, that is accountability.
We are not perfect; we all have dull spots. When we connect with the right people, the ones who call us higher and not only cheer where we are, we grow sharper emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. Accountability does not expose you to shame; it positions you for strength. Your blind spots need somebody else’s perspective. Alone, you grow weary; together you grow sharper.
Bar for your notes, isolation dulls you, accountability develops you.
Who is in your circle sharpening you right now, and just as important, who are you sharpening?
Reflection question
Whose faith could rise if you led yourself with tenderness and accountability this week, and what one behind-the-scenes step will you take today to model the way
