I recently listened to a man speak who has suffered greatly over the past few years. Everyone in the room was glued to his every word. He was a good speaker–but not a great one. What caused the “lean in” from those present wasn’t his ability to communicate. It was the weight of his words, tested and proven by hardship borne with grace.
I thought to myself that morning, “Most leaders want this kind of influence, but few are willing to pay the price of admission.” He had no control over the suffering that came his way, but he chose how to respond. And, it was his response that caused me to listen. His words were cold water to thirsty hearts, even though they came from a vessel that was scared by the trials of life.
It has now become common for me to ask myself if my response to adversity is causing people to listen or run away. The beating sun of our pain is never neutral in its results. The soil of our heart with either become dry and baked or ready for the farmer’s plow. It will bring hardness or harvest. There are so few things in life over which we have complete control, but our hearts are always in that category.
So, today I choose to guard the condition of my heart. After all, it is from there that my influence will spring.