Simon Cox Blog: 20 Truths from ‘The Louder Song’ by Aubrey Sampson

Saturday 9 February 2019

20 Truths from ‘The Louder Song’ by Aubrey Sampson

A sneak-peek of Sampson's new book on lament and hope.

1 – “It feels like hell and heaven are having coffee together in my kitchen, secretly laughing about some inside joke. But I have no ideas what’s so funny” (Page 9).

2 – “If God never shows up, if he never rescues me, if he never meets me here in this pain, then my entire life of faith–the solid rock upon which I stand–will have been nothing more that quicksand” (Page 13).

3 – “Suffering is an invitation to stop pretending” (Page 14).

4 – “Lament, a crying out of the soul, creates a pathway between the Already and Not Yet. Lament minds the gap between current hopelessness and coming hope” (Page 15).

5 – “…lament is a godly concept, a spiritual discipline, and a powerful handhold in our seasons of sorrow. God has given us the biblical language and practice of lament as a way to express our pain and survive our suffering” (Page 15).

6 – “God invites us to express our grief about the unravelling of life” (Page 16).

7 – “What’s remarkable about Christianity is that we have a King who is also a steadfast, loving Husband and friend. He not only permits lament; he gives us the language of lament” (Page 21).

8 – “If we never acknowledge our pain to God, we will never truly know what it means to praise him on the other side of suffering” (Page 21).

9 – “Though we know that God is always good, life doesn’t always feel that way” (Page 22).

10 – “To lament is to speak the reality of our formless, chaotic suffering ad to ask God to fill it with his very good” (Page 23).

11 – “I personally believe protest laments are one ...