Shadowlands and Songs of Light

Book excerpt: The Bible tells Christians not to grieve as the world grieves and to rejoice in their sufferings. Yet when author Kevin Ott lost his mother unexpectedly in 2010, he sank into a wintry depression. When life seemed the darkest, something surprising happened. While exploring eighteen C. S. Lewis books and thirteen U2 albums, he experienced tremendous “stabs of joy”—the unusual heaven-birthed joy that Lewis wrote about—in the midst of grief. This revelation not only pulled Kevin out of depression, it forever changed the way he experienced the love and joy of Christ. In Shadowlands and Songs of Light, you will:Learn fascinating details about C. S. Lewis, discover his unique definition of joy, understand how to apply his revelations about joy to suffering, and learn to recognize and cooperate with God’s strategic use of joy.Enjoy a grand tour of U2’s discography, with a special emphasis on their exploration of joy and suffering.Clearly understand, from the perspective of music theory explained in common terms, why the music of U2 is so emotionally powerful and how it serves as a perfect analogy for Lewis’s concepts of joy and the Christian ability to rejoice in suffering.Find inspiration from the personal stories of U2, especially the tragedies that engulfed their youth in Dublin, and see how they worked through that grief and discovered a joy that has kept the band together for over thirty-five years.When the out-of-control nature of the world and your weaknesses throw you off-balance, you can experience God’s grandeur and joy— discovering heaven’s perspective until it becomes your instinctive, default vantage point every day.