Spiritual First Aid: Spiritual and Emotional Care in CrisisSample

Humility and Practical Presence

Our research has shown that humility and practical presence are two ways you can be a more effective helper. Humility involves having an accurate view of your strengths and weaknesses and helps you to be more others-focused. This is also evident in Jesus. He frequently modeled humility, like washing the feet of His own disciples (John 13:12-17). Jesus was clear that humility is essential to service. Jesus instructs his disciples, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35). He also preaches it publicly, saying, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12).

We also see practical presence demonstrated throughout the Bible. In Isaiah, God calls for the Israelites to shelter the wanderer, clothe the naked, feed the hungry (Is. 58:7-9). Jesus, too, gave his presence (think of how many times in Scripture it says he reclined at someone’s table!). Practical presence focuses on meeting the immediate practical needs of others through a safe, supportive presence in order to facilitate holistic health. Practical presence can include the physical presence, but it doesn’t have to. Providing practical presence is more about making an emotional and spiritual connection.

Grounding your help in humility and practical presence increases your ability to hear, understand, and meet the needs of the person you are assisting. People tend to feel the most comfort when they feel their needs are perceived accurately and when they feel others care about them. Even when we cannot always provide a physical presence, it becomes more crucial that we show others we care about what is going on in their lives with a mindset and spirit of humility and practical presence.

Over the week ahead, we will touch on the five core needs to look for in times of crisis: Belonging, Livelihood, Emotional, Safety, Spiritual (BLESS). Although only one of these needs is listed as spiritual, all of these needs have a spiritual component. This visual depiction of the five core needs in the time of crisis shows how belonging, livelihood, emotional, spiritual, and safety needs are interconnected and how they can be understood from a spiritual perspective. It’s our prayer that we, as the body of Christ, can show up with humility and presence for those in crisis.

The BLESS Method is Spiritual First Aid’s assessment and intervention framework for humbly helping and providing practical presence. BLESS represents the first letter of each of the five core needs (Belonging, Livelihood, Emotional, Safety, and Spiritual needs) that Spiritual First Aid was designed to assist.