Wow, I just woke up from a deep sleep. He was pounding on the door, and I jumped up and put my robe on, and stumbled toward the door. I flipped the light switch on, and mumbled, "Just a minute. I'm coming."
I opened the door, and about fell over in my tracks. Standing at the door was Billy Graham.
You can imagine how startled I was. Here it was 7:00 A.M. and his pounding on the door had awakened me from a sound sleep. I could not believe my eyes.
I, of course invited him in to my home, and he came in and sat down in the living room. I looked around at my messy home, and was a little embarrassed. I quickly turned over a magazine that was sitting on the coffee table. I regretted that it was not the Bible sitting there.
It was not a bad magazine, I want you to know. Just one of those tabloids with the crazy stories about celebrities. They must sell thousands of them in local supermarkets around the world each day, so I was not sure why I turned it over.
Anyway, Billy did not seem to notice. He looked at me sitting across from him, and with a big smile, told me he had heard about me from one of his friends, and found out he was going to be in my town for a week, so he thought it would be a good time to get to know me, and to spend some time with me.
Needless to say, I was blown away.
The great Billy Graham stopping at my home at 7:00 in the morning.
He asked me some questions about my life, and I shared with him some of my struggles. I also was quick to point out some of the neat things that had been happening in my life lately.
I told him about my local church, and my impact that I was having there. He seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say.
I asked him about his family and he told me stories about his wife and kids, and some of the struggles that they had in the past. He also shared with me how God has always been faithful to him and his family, and he really knew the meaning of living the abundant life that Jesus talked about in John 10:10.
He asked me what he could pray for me and for my family. He took out his notebook and wrote it all down. He asked me if we could pray together before he left, and if he could come back every morning this week while he was in town.
I could not believe this was happening to me, and I reached over and pinched myself to see if I was dreaming.
I jumped up from the bed wide awake. Wow, what a vivid dream. I can recall it vividly almost as if it were real.
But then I was thinking about it later on in the morning, and realized that Someone greater than Billy Graham wants to meet with me every morning.
He even said, "Behold I stand at the door and knock," in Rev 3:20, and I remembered Psalm 5:3, "My voice shall you hear in the morning Lord."
I recalled that it was the habit of Jesus to spend time with his Father in the morning. In Mark 1:35, he talked about "rising up a great while before morning" to spend time with His Father.
I then remembered Matthew 7:7 which says, "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you."
I then thought about Abraham in Gen 19:27, "And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD." And also Moses and all the times he stood before the Lord in the morning.
Wow, does the Supreme God of the Universe really want to meet with me every day? What a neat thing to have happen to me. The very thought that Someone so great, could even imagine spending time with someone like me who is so small.
And yet, with my dream still burning in my mind, I thought of my life over the last several years. When the God of the Universe had come knocking on my door in the morning, I have responded much differently than I did with Billy Graham.
"You don't understand Lord. I am really busy today!. I promise that later on today I will stop someplace quiet and read my Bible, and spend some time praying with you."
And as I thought about this, great shame came over me, when I think of all the excuses that I have made to the Holy God who really wants to spend time with me.
Why would the impact of a visit from Billy Graham make more of an impression on me than a visit from a Heavenly Father, who gave of his very blood to rescue me from sin? Why, O why do I not spend more time with Him?
God help me to change my pattern of living, and to meet with you every morning.
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22,23
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