A Christmas Reflection – There’s a quiet truth God keeps whispering to me in this season – a truth for leaders, yes, but also for husbands, wives, mothers, friends, neighbors…well, you get the idea. It’s anyone who carries the weight of loving others well. It’s about intimacy before influence:
“You’ve always thrived when your leadership flows from intimacy with Me.
This next chapter of your life will require more of that, not less.
Stay near Me. Don’t run ahead. Let Me order your steps.”
It’s a message that feels especially tender during Christmas – tis the season when we talk about peace, joy, and God-with-us. Yet often we hurry our way straight into exhaustion, obligation, and emotional overload.
But the point of Christmas has always been this:
Before Jesus ever influenced the world, He came close.
Before He healed, He was held.
Before He taught, He dwelled.
Intimacy came before influence.
Yes, I am a little slow to get this and other things, at times, but I’m realizing that’s how it’s meant to be for us, too.
Influence Isn’t the First Calling – Presence Is
We live in a world obsessed with impact:
- Be a stronger leader
- Be a better parent
- Build a thriving business
- Create a meaningful legacy
None of those are bad. They’re just incomplete.
Because influence without intimacy becomes pressure. I’ve lived it. I’ve been there, and I’m sure most others have been there, too.
But influence that flows from intimacy becomes peace.
We tend to think God uses our biggest efforts – the projects, the plans, the polished moments.
But Scripture and experience both tell a different story. God often moves through the quiet ways we show up:
- A calm response in a tense moment
- A gentle word to a child
- A warm presence during someone’s hard day
- A marriage shaped more by grace than by goals
- A listening ear rather than a perfect answer
We think leadership, parenting, relationships, and neighboring all start with doing.
God says it starts with being.
Being near Him.
Being rooted.
Being present.
Being aligned.
Because as God told me in the quiet:
“What you build with Me will outlast what you build for Me.”
Christmas Is an Invitation Back to Nearness
Christmas is not just about Jesus’ arrival. It’s about how He arrived.
Not in noise, but in stillness.
Not with armies, but in a manger.
Not in a palace, but in a place of simplicity.
Christmas is God saying:
“Let Me be close to you.
Before you serve Me, sit with Me.”
In a season filled with lists, gatherings, and expectations, maybe the holiest thing we can do is simply slow down long enough to let God reorder our steps again.
To remember that:
- Your worth doesn’t come from how much you accomplish
- Your influence doesn’t come from how hard, fast, and long you work
- Your peace doesn’t come from getting everything right
It all begins with being near Him.
Everyday Influence Flows From Everyday Intimacy
You don’t need a title to be a leader.
You don’t need a platform to leave a legacy.
You don’t need a perfect plan to make an impact.
Influence happens in the unseen spaces:
- When you choose patience with your spouse
- When you speak life into your kids
- When you offer kindness to a neighbor
- When you pause long enough to listen
- When your presence steadies someone else’s storm
This is leadership.
This is ministry.
This is impact wrapped in simplicity.
And it all flows from the same place:
Intimacy with the One who leads you.
When you stay near Him, you carry His peace into your home.
When you slow down with Him, you bring clarity into confusion.
When you let Him shape you, you end up shaping the world around you – gently, quietly, powerfully.
Not because of striving.
But because of alignment.
Aligning with Him.
Challenge of the Week
As Christmas approaches, here’s the invitation – choose intimacy before influence. Let your leadership flow from nearness, not noise.
Let your presence carry more weight than your plans.
Let God do in you what He intends to do through you. Because the truth is…
Everything you build with Him
will outlast anything you build for Him.
And that kind of influence, the kind born from intimacy, will shape your everyday life long after the Christmas lights come down. So be it.
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