Dr. Arthur John Gossip was a minister who had preached many sermons, but none like this one. The day before, his wife had collapsed and died suddenly. Now he stood in the pulpit of the Beechgrove Church in Aberdeen, Scotland, speaking on the subject "But When Life Tumbles In, What Then?" In the midst of his pain, he spoke words of hope to his congregation.
In reflecting on his loss Gossip said, "I do not understand this life of ours. But still less can I comprehend how people in trouble and loss and bereavement can fling away peevishly from the Christian faith. In God's name, fling to what? Have we not lost enough without losing that too?" Later he explained, "You people," says Gossip, "in the sunshine may believe the faith, but we in the shadow must believe it. We have nothing else."
It's never easy for one who stands in the sunshine, as Gossip put it, to speak to those in the shadow. Any words that are spoken ring hollow and empty. If you are walking in the shadow of loss or illness or financial strain, you may find it hard to listen to those who would speak to you of hope. You need to hear from those who know life's dark side. One place to do that is HopeforLife.org. On that website, you will find the stories of people like Arthur John Gossip who found themselves in the shadow but now walk in the sunshine. People who faced life's most extreme moments and came out with faith in God.
Gossip ended his sermon with these words:
I don't think you need to be afraid of life. Our hearts are very frail, and there are places where the road is very steep and very lonely, but we have a wonderful God. And, as Paul puts it, "What can separate us from his love? Not death," he writes immediately. No, not death, for standing in the roaring of the Jordan, cold with its dreadful chill and very conscious of its terror, of its rushing, I, too, like Hopeful in Pilgrim's Progress, can call back to you who one day in your turn will have to cross it, "Be of good cheer, my brother, for I feel the bottom and it is sound."
Visit HopeforLife.org and hear the voices of others who echo Gossip’s words: "I feel the bottom and it is sound." Find the hope that God offers. Write to me at tim@hopeforlife.org, and I'll tell you more about the hope God offers in our darkest hour.
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