Wounds That Heal: Bringing Our Hurts to the Cross

by Stephen Seamands

"By his wounds we are healed"--Isaiah 53:5. We are wounded people. In this fallen world, people are hurt and exploited. Children are abused. Marriages are broken. Tragedies of all kinds afflict us and the ones we love. Woundedness, it seems, is simply a fact of life. But we are not alone in our suffering. Despite our emotional, psychological and physical injuries, God has not abandoned us. God is not distant or aloof. On the contrary, through the ministry of Jesus, God enters our painful situations to bring healing and redemption. Balancing sound biblical exposition with sensitive pastoral care, Stephen Seamands examines the profound implications of Jesus' crucifixion for our healing and restoration. Because Jesus experienced abuse, shame and rejection, he understands the hurts we experience today. And his response to pain and suffering gives us hope that we too can experience forgiveness and new life. Filled with real-life stories of people?s brokenness and healing, Wounds That Heal offers comfort for our wounded souls. Ultimately, we take heart that God not only understands our pain but has done something about it. Encounter here the promise that the wounds of Jesus are wounds that heal.

Genres: Counselling, Religion, Theology, School, Spirituality

184 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Stephen Seamands (Ph.D., Drew University) is professor of Christian doctrine at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He also frequently speaks and leads retreats and seminars on such issues as emotional healing and spiritual renewal.

His books include Give Them Christ (InterVarsity Press, 2012), Christology and Transition in the Theology of Edwin Lewis (University Press of America, 1987), Holiness of Heart and Life (Abingdon, 1990), A Conversation with Jesus (Victor, 1994) and Wounds That Heal (InterVarsity Press, 2003).

Reviews

[Kyle Inman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this the strongest, most technical 5-star that I’ve ever given out? No it’s not. The reasoning may sound strange, but what I find so excellent about this book is the tone of it. I believe Seamands gives a uniquely compassionate, profoundly empathetic tone to the topic of deliverance ministry, a space where it is desperately needed. It’s like he has this knack for asking questions in a way that really cuts to the quick of a deep trauma or sensitive subject, mixing it with a persistence to keep the focus on Jesus throughout, clearly convinced that this healing really is available to anyone willing to entrust themselves to the process. It is bold, kind, and boldly kind in essence, with the deep insights of a seasoned seminary professor sprinkled throughout. Definitely underrated and worth checking out!

[Bradean Marius · Rating 5 out of 5]

In one of the churches I minister, there was this 91 years old Elder. He was considered very spiritual and trustworthy. But he had gone through very rough times in his life. Reading Dr. Seamands book I remembered his story. In 1989 in December before the anti-Communist Revolution, he had three of his girls (he had 5 girls and 3 boys) in Timisoara (the city where the Revolution started); the older daughter, the second one and the youngest. The first two were working and the youngest just started her college (October 1st that year). The Revolution started on Saturday December 16, and on Sunday night, on the way home from the church, this three girls decided to pass by the place where most of the people from the revolution were, to see what was going on there. That day the shooting started and continued through the night, but people gathered very fast in the National Opera Plaza. So, going through a park, close to the hot spot of the revolution, holding hands, with the youngest in the middle, a sniper shot both older girls. The youngest saw her two sisters from her sides falling down almost instantly. People gathered around her, took her from there and the bodies of the shot girls disappeared. After a weak, after the Communism was abolished, the family was able to find only one of the dead girls. Apparently she didn’t die in the park, but was executed in the head in the hospital. They couldn’t find the other one because the communist authorities, in order to hide the crimes, sent 200 bodies to Bucharest to be cremated. All this, left a big pain in the entire family but mostly in this father’s heart. He was angry with God for many years after this los though continuing to do ministry. Then, something happened: he talks about a vision, in which he met God, the Father. In this vision he asked God why he had to go through that pain and he asked for healing from his pain. But God told him that He suffered too; He saw his Son being killed too; and when he is in pain he should look to the Cross, and to Christ’s wounds, because He bore his suffering on the cross too. This elder witness that from the moment, when he realized that Christ suffered and the Father suffered with Him, his pain was gone. This is the thesis of Dr. Seamand’s book too. Christ bore our hurts on the Cross in order that we would be healed.
The book has two parts. The first part has to do with the problem of human pains. But it addresses the human hurts through the Cross and it’s pain. Looking at Jesus Christ and taking the reader through each step of Christ’s sufferings, Stephen Seamands states a crude reality; the pain as unjust and as hurtful, and as devastating as it is exists in our world, and some times there is nothing we can do about it. This is opposed to the philosophy of this world, which promotes cheap deliverance from the pain, by running away from it. The good news of this part of the book is that Jesus suffered our pain in his suffering on the Cross. The most challenging chapter for me was chapter six that speaks of deliverance from demonization. It was hard for me to accept the statement that Christians can be under the influence of evil spirits (demonization) while having the Holy Spirit in their life. But the fine distinction that Dr. Seamands make between “demon possession” and “demonization”(96-97) makes, helped me understand his point.
The second part of the book, offers a path to healing through the Cross. Again, the most important aspect emphasized is that Christ suffered with us on the Cross. The hardest part here is to make the steps of embracing the pain. This chapter describes a very painful way of acknowledging past hurts in life. It made me wander if the process of reliving the pain isn’t more painful than the past pain. But I realized that this is the path to healing. Also this way of doing healing brings humans to a point where they can forgive, and where they can love the ones who afflicted the pain (their enemies). And in the end our hearts can become “radiant scars” allowing “the Lord to glorify

[Blake Chenoweth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everybody at some point in their life is going to deal with pain, suffering, or hurts. What you do with them once you are faced with them is what makes you who you are. This book walks us through Jesus' journey to calvary and what he did on the cross to set us free from our own hurts. You get a better understanding of the purposes of our pain and also how to be set free from them.

This book made me cry several times from the stories of real people and the agony they faced in their lives. It is a book I wish I found earlier in my life, as so much of it brought back memories of my childhood. A treasure of a book to go back to especially if you or someone you know has gone through trials in their life, which basically means everybody.

[Justin Ruszkiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives such a powerful perspective on the Cross of Christ and its importance in the healing of our wounds. Powerful!

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Seamands' book Wounds That Heal:Bringing Our Hurts to the Cross provides concrete details from true life stories of how Jesus' sacrifice on the cross has brought healing and wholeness ever since. My favorite chapter was on "Love Your Enemies" where Seamands recounts the story of an American POW held by the Japanese and how his decision to obey Jesus changed his heart toward a guard whom he had hated. Another story is of a woman taken as a sex slave: she escaped and became a nurse and years later her now helpless captor ended up being her patient. She cared for him and saved his life. These things sound impossible, but when we bring our wounds to the cross, all things are possible. Seamands does a great job of weaving together scriptural theology and the applications in the real lives of people in our day.

[Rob O'Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theologically and pastorally solid discussion of how our physical, emotional and psychological wounds impact our spiritual development and how Christ identifies with and offer salvation to us through his own death and resurrection.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapter 4 was especially outstanding and really spoke to me. A great book for people who have had to deal with very difficult circumstances.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really intense trauma focused book. Good material, but very dark at times.