Triage is all about prioritizing the best care and treatment for a person in the middle of an emergency. Think about an emergency room in a hospital. There are all kinds of doctors, nurses, and other staff who specialize in remedying different emergency situations. In a nutshell, they’re the right people for the job. I’m not saying that you need to necessarily find somebody with a doctoral degree to help you through your spiritual emergency, but it is important, once you’ve paused and just breathed for a time, to find the right people to help you through your spiritual emergency and bring you closer to healing.
At first, finding the right people may seem like a tall order or something you would rather skip because spiritual emergencies often involve shattered trust. Perhaps there are some people in your life who you used to trust, but this spiritual emergency has broken that trust in some way. When that happens, it may be difficult to know who to turn to or what to look for in a trustworthy person because your entire perception of a trustworthy person has just been completely shattered.
The Bible shows us some excellent examples of the right people in the middle of spiritual emergency in the life of Paul. Throughout his life, God sent Paul four specific people who were right for him and for helping him on his path to healing from his spiritual emergency: Ananias, Barnabas, James, and Peter. First, let’s look at Ananias and how he was the right person for Paul in his spiritual emergency. Immediately following the onset of Paul’s spiritual emergency as well as his newfound blindness, he continues on to Damascus and is staying at someone’s house there. The Lord calls Ananias in a vision and tells him to go see Paul, and he faithfully obeys. Scripture records that visit like this:
17 "Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” (Acts 9:17-19)
Ananias is faithful to the Lord’s call and goes to comfort Paul (referred to in the passage as Saul, his Hebrew name) and empathize with him. It can be tempting for us, especially in the digital age, to turn to YouTube experts or podcasters or some other virtual help. None of these are inherently bad things, but when we are amid a spiritual emergency, we need something more up close and personal. We need someone who will intentionally listen to us as we convey our struggles and someone who will offer empathy to us in our deepest pain. That’s what Ananias was for Paul in this moment. Let’s look at another example in a man named Barnabas.
We pick up Paul’s story in Jerusalem. At this point, he has been baptized and converted to Christ, and he is attempting to begin his ministry there, but he has some trouble gaining the trust and confidence of the disciples:
26 "When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was really a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.” (Acts 9:26-28)
Here, Paul is a very new convert, and the disciples are afraid of him because they knew about his reputation. Because of this, they did not immediately trust that he had converted. Barnabas, however, advocated for Paul. Beyond that, Barnabas went with him as he began to preach the Gospel in Jerusalem. Barnabas had the experience and maturity necessary to navigate this tension. In a spiritual emergency, we need experienced advocates, not just someone who’s a know-it-all or someone who will tell you what to do. We need someone who can walk through it with us and advocate for a process of healing that makes sense for each individual circumstance. Later on in Scripture, in the book of Galatians, we can see the fruit of Barnabas’ advocacy for Paul. In chapter 1, Paul talks about his visits to Peter and James and talks about how people in some of the towns that he has ministered to praised God for his changed life in Christ. Over the course of his life, Paul goes from being the patient in the ER to being a leader of leaders who would help others through him.
In Romans 16 (and many of Paul’s other letters), we see a beautiful picture of the community that he ends up being surrounded by. He ends his letter by sending greetings to many of his dearest friends and co-laborers in ministry. As you read the list, you can see his genuine love and care for these people. We want everyone to be able to get to a place where we can talk about people like this. To help you with that process of finding the right people, here is a practical guide on how to find the right people and avoid the wrong people:
The wrong people say things like this…
You just need more faith. Unsafe people will always seem like they have it all together and have no vulnerability.
You know what the book says.
Get over it. Unsafe people don’t honor the process of healing.
Here’s what you should believe. Unsafe people give answers before asking questions.
People are saying things about you. Unsafe people try to pressure you into going back.
They need something from you and are uncomfortable or threatened by your situation or are just thinking about themselves.
The right people say things like this…
It’s ok to not be ok right now. Safe people will give you time to fully process and feel your pain.
I love the real you. Safe people will never pressure you into putting on a mask of somebody you’re not.
Just because you got it wrong doesn’t mean something’s wrong with you. Safe people understand that people will make mistakes sometimes.
Thanks for sharing that with me. Safe people are happy to listen to your struggles.
When you’re ready, I’m here. Safe people won’t pressure you into getting over something before you’re ready. When you are ready, they’ll be ready to walk with you through it.
Do you have any questions for me? Safe people are empathetic, humble, loving, and gentle.
Whatever your life might look like right now, it’s important to remember that we all need people like this, and we all need to be people like this for one another. Paul says it like this to the Christians in Galatia:
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)
We carry each other’s burdens because Christ first carried ours. He is always the right person when you don’t know where to turn and He can always be trusted. He was always kind and gracious to sinners and skeptics, doubters and the sick alike. So now that you have an idea of what to look for in the right people, how do you go about finding them?
Here are a few questions for finding the right people:
1. Do they listen more than they talk?
2. Do they live life in community?
3. Are they willing to connect in person?
4. Do they offer grace and truth?
At SMCC, we have people like this all around us, and if you’re in a spiritual emergency right now, we want you to find them because this is the perfect place for imperfect people. It’s been said that the church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners. We want to continue to be that hospital for you if you’re going through a spiritual emergency.
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