Spiritual First Aid: Spiritual and Emotional Care in CrisisChikamu

Safety Needs

We trust that God is our ultimate help. Through the Psalms, we see repeated assurance that God cares about our safety. The psalmists call God “refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Ps. 46:1) and “our shield” (Ps. 28:7). Additionally, Jesus paints a picture of the Father’s deep attention to our needs. He does so by showing how God even cares about the well-being of small sparrows. Jesus said, “so don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matt. 10:29-31). Jesus reminds us that our Father in heaven is looking out for us. We also know that often the way God helps us is through each other. We all need refuge and strength—and we need to be looking out for each other’s safety—especially in times of crisis.

Help with humility:

Check-in regularly to make sure you are tracking with the other person. It is important to understand and come to accept that, as a helper, you are sometimes going to make mistakes. Thankfully, God gives us more grace (James 4:6). Humility will help you acknowledge your missteps and make corrections in how you are assisting. This is particularly important to practice when assessing and addressing safety needs. 

Here are a few ways you can do this:

• Acknowledge that you are listening by occasionally repeating back what you have heard or read (e.g., texting) to make sure that you are understanding what is being shared.
• Ask if they support you are providing is actually helping.
• Don’t get upset or defensive if the other person says you are not understanding or are not helping. Instead, ask what you could do differently.

Engage in practical presence:

When we seek to help, we need to keep asking if what we are doing is helpful or harmful.

• Know your limits and capacity as a non-medical professional.
• Protect the privacy of the people you are helping, but recognize when they need a referral or to call a hotline (danger to self or others).
• Encourage hopefulness. Pray silently for courage and wisdom, for both you and the other person.

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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.