The famous British painter William Wolcott visited New York in 1924, intending to express his feelings about the great city through painting. One morning, he went to visit an old colleague, and in his office, inspiration suddenly came to him and he wanted to paint. He saw some paper on the book of an old colleague and said, "Can I use these to draw?" The old colleague said, "This is not drawing paper, it's just ordinary wrapping paper." William picked up the wrapping paper and looked at it, then said, "No matter how ordinary the paper is, it is no longer ordinary as long as you know how to use it." Then he immediately used the wrapping paper to draw two sketches. Later, one of the paintings sold for $500 and the other for $1,000, which were quite a large sum of money back in 1924.

Why have these two pieces of wrapping paper become so valuable? Because the one who draws on the paper was an outstanding painter. It was the painter who made these two ordinary pieces of paper valuable.

Likewise, those who empower others will bring out the best in them and make their lives meaningful!

If you know how to empower others, you will easily succeed in your career. A well-known executive once said, "No matter how hard-working you are or how lovely your personality is, if you don't know how to get things done through people, you won't get very far in your career." The same is true in ministry. No matter how hard you work, how zealously you serve the Lord, or how great your love is, if you do not know how to serve through people, your influence will still be limited.

Being an enabler is not just about getting things done through others, but about improving people's knowledge, skills and character. Simply put, empowering others means passing your influence to another person so that he or she can perform better. You will share yourself with the other person, including your influence, your status, your opportunities, your knowledge and skills, etc. This is an investment in life.
God is the perfect enabler. The Holy Spirit is the One who empowers. Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do also. He will do greater works than these, because I go to the Father." (John 14:12) Why can we do greater works than Jesus? Because Jesus went to the Father, He sent the Holy Spirit. Jesus then said, "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever." (John 14:16) The Comforter is the one who gives us strength. It is the Holy Spirit that enables us to do greater things than Jesus did.

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you." (Acts 1:8) The Holy Spirit has given us power to bear witness for Christ, and He also gives us the power to empower others so that we can make disciples of all nations. Because of this ability, we can lead and influence people.

"And He gave some as apostles; and some as prophets; and some as evangelists; and some as pastors and teachers; for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, so that the body of Christ may be built up." (Ephesians 4:11-12) The purpose of God's establishment of leaders is not for leaders to focus only on their own service, but for leaders to empower others to serve so that everyone can fulfill their ministry and build up the body of Christ. Therefore, we must be a person who enables others to be empowered, and we must also have the ability to do so.

How to enable others? I share four key elements:

1. Be his role model

The Bible clearly states that leadership is about modeling; we would not be able to lead if we are not acting as role models!

A psychological study pointed out that many parents earnestly urge their children to study hard, but if the parents themselves do not like to study, their children will not study seriously. People usually don't do what they are told, but do what they see. People need role models.

There was a little hawk that grew up with chickens. It walked like a chicken, ate like a chicken, and crowed like a chicken. It also tried to fly over, but it only flew about three or four feet before falling down. Until one day, it saw a hawk in the sky, flying so high, so gracefully, and so freely. Suddenly, the hawk swooped down from mid-air, grabbed a chick, and flew away. Such fast and powerful action! At that moment, it felt a great shock in its heart - it felt that it should not belong to the earth, but to heaven. It looked at the eagle in the sky, and tried to spread its wings. It flapped its wings vigorously, and found itself flying in the sky, flying with the eagle! If the little eagle hadn't seen its own kind, it would never have known that it could fly high.

If you want to empower someone, show him how to do it. He needs you to show him what life in heaven is like, a higher level of life, a more meaningful life. When he sees it, he will desire it and follow it.
Whatever attitude you want those who follow you to have, you must live that attitude first. Whatever skills you want that person to have, let him stay by your side and watch how you do it. Show him how to do it. This is the first step to empowering others.

2. Authorize him

Jesus knew how to delegate. "And Jesus gathered the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all demons and to heal every disease and every sickness. And he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick." (Luke 9:1-2)

Jesus not only gave us responsibility, but also authority. Many people are happy to delegate responsibilities to others to share because this way they can do less and feel less stressed. But empowering others is not only about having them share your responsibilities, it is also about sharing your power and influence with them.

An expert in management said, "There has never been a boss who does a poor job because his subordinates are strong and effective. There is no such thing!" How does a person become strong and effective? That is when he is fully empowered to make decisions, innovate, solve problems and face challenges. When you empower someone, you help him to work and serve independently under your shadow. In fact, a successful person is not necessarily the smartest one, but the one who can coordinate his subordinates to work together. In other words, successful people delegate.

In fact, in your daily life, you may already be doing things that empower others without even realizing it. When you delegate an important decision to your spouse and then willingly stand behind that decision, you empower your spouse. When you believe your child is capable of taking the bus home alone and you allow him to do so, you empower his child. When you assign a challenging task to your subordinates and at the same time delegate power to them, you empower your subordinates.

What you need is to delegate more consciously and boldly. When a person matures to a certain point, you should give him some more difficult and challenging tasks, so that he can grow. When you first delegate authority to him, he may not do as well as you do, but don't overprotect him and let him stumble. When he encounters difficulties and calls out to you, this will be a big temptation: take back the responsibility and power, and he will not be able to be independent; continue to trust him and encourage him, and he can grow. Don't be afraid, God will take care of him.

Empowering people to grow is a win-win situation as others gain value and your influence expands.

3. Unleash him to act independently

The ultimate goal of empowering others is to make them independent!

President Lincoln was a leader who knew how to empower people. In 1864, he appointed Ulysses Grant as commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces and issued him an order: "I will not ask you, nor am I interested in knowing your battle plan. You only need to take responsibility and take action. Notify me when you need help." This is an attitude that enables people: delegate power and responsibility, and help others only when they need help.

Jesus said, "Do you not say, 'There are still four months, and then the harvest?' I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields; they are already ripe for harvest." (John 4:35) Jesus did not say that he would send the church members to harvest the harvest after they were mature; rather, he said that the harvest field was ripe and urgently needed workers! It is not about waiting for people to mature, but about releasing them to do it as soon as possible, allowing them to mature through the tempering. Growth is achieved through hard work.

4. Lead him to wait on God

"But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31) The secret to renewed strength is to wait on the LORD.

The original meaning of "wait" is "to entangle", which is used to describe climbing plants. Vines are weak on their own and must rely on stronger plants for strength to grow. Waiting for the Lord means that no matter what you do, you must cling to God like a climbing vine, so that you will have strength.

Don't let others rely on you, your strength is so limited. If the other person relies on you, you will feel a lot of pressure. When someone brings a problem to you, don't accept it so quickly, but guide him to bring the problem to God. God alone is the source of his strength, not you. You are just a human being, there are many things you can't help with.

When you release someone to do things independently as quickly as possible, he is bound to encounter many problems. If he comes to you whenever he encounters a problem, you won't be able to handle it because you are limited! You should point him to God and tell him to trust in the Lord, because only those who wait for the Lord will renew their strength. let it go! Completely entrust your subordinates to the Lord, let God help them, and trust that God will help them!

Be an Enabler