20 Truths from ‘The Louder Song’ by Aubrey Sampson
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 of our most powerful ministry and evangelistic tools, because these laments actually give dignity to the marginalized sufferer” (Page 25).
12 – “In Jesus, our suffering can become a place in which God bids us, ‘come near’” (Page 27).
13 – “Anger, all too often, is what chips away at our relationships” (Page 52).
14 – “Thankfully, painful seasons don’t allow for masquerading” (Page 55).
15 – “…in order to move through our pain, we need to create space to grieve our disrupted futures” (Page 60).
16 – “Friend, God may feel absent. But truthfully, he sees you. He is carrying you through every storm” (Page 69).
17 – “In our hard moments, if we’re not careful, our minds and hearts can easily become filled with distorted images of God” (Page 76).
18 – “To lament is to love others” (Page 84).
19 – “No matter where you live or where you come from, it is within your power to love your neighbor. As you lament, you reveal the compassionate hope of Jesus to a world in need” (Page 87).
20 - “The person in pain doesn’t need you to help steer them to the bright side” (Page 97).
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