One of the main goals of spiritual care is to elicit the patient's own power. Previously, religious professionals encouraged people to believe in God, Buddha, or spiritual beings and helped those who were suffering. The power to recover was believed to come from outside human beings. For example, the foremost role of hospital chaplains in the past was to pray to a transcendental being (s) with those who were suffering. When resilience was expected, the first thing to do was to rely on the transcendental being (s).
 In contrast, the priority in contemporary spiritual care is to trust the resilience of those with difficulties, even when the concerned believe in a transcendental power. The emphasis is on human beings and things which can be seen, rather than transcendental beings. Through this kind of expectation, resilience is to be expected and becomes a source of hope.
 However, there may be cases in which resilience does not grow. On caring for the dying or those with marked grief, just facing spiritual pain may be the prevalent situation. Care workers need to accept the reality that overcoming spiritual pain is not easy. Then, the paradox is that facing weakness itself can become a source of power. This may be experienced in spiritual care, and it helps elucidate an aspect of resilience.
 The author's position is that there are many cases in which power is elicited from weakness. Examples are found through the activities to provide aid following the Great East Japan Earthquake, in the spiritual care of dying persons at home, as well as in the care of psychiatric patients who are liberated from the obsession that they must be cured.
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