How to Steward Your Sphere of Influence

It takes a village… to write a book!

When Lynn and I were writing Esther, we fed the draft chapter by chapter to a team of readers who gave us feedback. We couldn’t have done it without those amazing women, and Esther wouldn’t have been half as good without the changes they helped us to make.

Two of our most faithful encouragers have guest posts going live today. Here, you’ll read a post by Shelley Boulos. Please encourage her in the comments and then hop over to Lynn’s blog to read “But What I Can Do” by Cecille Valoria.

Here’s Shelley….!

Esther is widely admired for stewarding her calling with boldness
which lead to the deliverance of the Jewish people. Yet, the victory did not happen overnight. Nor was she given a roadmap to follow with easy-to-read signs
pointing to the path of safety.

So what helped Esther develop the wisdom needed in the face of
a potentially fatal situation?

She must have felt a myriad of emotions but amidst that, she
found herself in a sticky situation that required decisions. Esther needed the skills to make wise decisions because her decisions had potentially fatal consequences. Like Esther, our actions and decisions also need wisdom for obtaining the right
outcomes.

Esther’s life began in a small sphere with the primary influence of
her uncle Mordecai since she was an orphan. Before she could learn how to steward a public sphere of influence, she had to learn in private. As she learned and gleaned
from God’s truths and Mordecai’s ancient wisdom, Esther to grew
her reservoir of wisdom.

Her desire to stay obedient to God’s truth began in humble, small
beginnings where she was receptive to wise counsel. Through wisdom and divine design, Esther’s sphere of influence grew.

Like Esther, we too have spheres of influence that are made of
relationships and people who feel, think, see and do differently
than ourselves. Navigating relationships and viewing others as gifts from God can
guide us in being intentional about taking steps to strengthen
relationships. Engagement through communicating well is a skill we all need for
healthy relationships especially if we want to create a legacy
through influencing others. God calls us to show up despite our differences to love, sow and invest in others primarily with our primary spheres of influence
such as our family, church, workplace, and ministry.

Esther was a channel of blessing for her generation by showing
up each day with a heart of service and a mind prepared to take
action to further God’s mission.

One aspect of applying wisdom is growing in discernment of the
relational dynamics in your circle. For instance, being perceptive
of needs or speaking the right words can bring hope and healing.
Being present begins with intentionality.

For Esther to be able to maturely handle the complex
relationships placed in her path, she needed to draw from the
wisdom of Mordecai and Haggai. Wise counsel and an arsenal of wisdom are notable keys to stewarding the sphere of influence God placed in Esther’s life.
For us to be like Esther we must decide to steward our spheres of
influence with intention, diligence, and focus.

In summary, 3 ways to practically steward our spheres of influence are:

1) Be receptive to gaining wisdom from mentors and elders
2) Commit to growing in relational wisdom through healthy
communication
3) Learn to discern and navigate the appropriate time to handle
difficult conversations

By mustering the courage to grow and awakening to the beauty of
relationships we have, stewardship can become a calling with a
long lasting legacy.

Like Esther, we can balance grace and truth in our uncertain
paths.

Shelley Kaur Boulos is a former Sikh who discovered the heart of the God through a relationship with Christ. She holds a graduate degree in Audiology. She is a lover of words and an observer of beauty.

Shelley believes the right words can change lives, awaken hearts and usher deep healing to a broken world. She has spoken for ministry interns to share about finding Christ from an eastern background. She has had her testimony published in
a book on world religions, by Harvest House publishers and the Pioneers magazine.

Her writing topics of interest include intimacy with God, shame and honor cultures and wholeness. She is fluent in Punjabi and speaks Hindi and Urdu. She is a recent North Carolina transplant, always has a stack of TBR books and a stash of dark chocolate.