Dear Brother, fellow servant of our loving Shepherd,
If you haven’t yet read the book by Pastor Tim Bourman, Deep as the Sea: Letters to Survivors of Trauma, I hope you will soon. I’m confident that you will find it to be a blessing as you minister to hurting souls.
If you are one of the minority who hasn’t suffered from emotional trauma (61 percent of men and 51 percent of women will in their lives; 7 to 8 percent will suffer from PTSD), this book will give you insights into the depth of the pain of those who carry the wounds, and will help you minister to them. If you are among the majority, this book will wrap the arms of Scripture around you and assure you that though there is no safe haven on earth, even in your sleep (or perhaps especially in your sleep), when the earth beneath your feet is becoming quicksand, and the mountains are disintegrating and falling into the sea, God is your refuge—the God who took your sins to the cross.
What makes this book so compelling and useful is its depth of compassion. It is a collection of letters to survivors. In these letters, the author speaks from the heart, a heart that has experienced the trauma of facing what seemed like certain death, and yet survived. He doesn’t throw out pious platitudes or pretend to know the answers. He reaches out with the compassion of one who knows the hurt and has searched the Scriptures and knows that the healing we find in the wounds of Jesus is the healing that makes it possible to survive.
It’s likely that every time you preach, a survivor of trauma is listening. It may be that some who are absent are struggling spiritually as a result of trauma. Click here to view a sample, and consider adding this book to your pastoral toolkit. It will be a blessing for the wounded in your congregation and a blessing for you in your ministry.
Because Jesus lives!
Ray Schumacher
NPH Editor