Fitting In
This past Tuesday the 20th, I arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina to be keynote speaker for another Advance the Light Dinner given by Christian Library International. Driving from the airport to the hotel we drove on Billy Graham Parkway and passed the Bill Graham Library on the way. I would discover Billy Graham’s corporate office was also in Charlotte.
When I began putting the message together for these dinners I used some material from other sermons I had given since my release. During my incarceration I read many books written by Billy Graham and had used some of his stories in some of my messages.
When I added these stories I never made the connection (God did) I would be delivering them in the heart of Billy Graham country. After the dinner in Atlanta a gentleman told me how much he liked Billy Graham. I received the same comments in Raleigh.
It amazes me how God puts our lives (and messages) together when we start doing things His way. I would like to share with you one of the stories I shared with the guests at the dinners.
Towards the end of my sentence I was reading Billy Graham’s book-“The Secret of Happiness.” He told the story of a friend who lost his job, a fortune, his wife and his home. But he tenaciously held to his faith-the only thing he had left. One day he stopped to watch some men doing stonework on a huge church. One of them was chiseling a triangular piece of stone. “What are you going to do with that?” Asked his friend. The workman said, “See that little opening away up there near the spire Well, I’m shaping this down here so it will fit in up there.” Tears filled his friend’s eyes as he walked away, for it seemed that God had spoken through the workman to explain the ordeal through which he was passing. “I’m shaping you down here so you you’ll fit in up there.” After you have “suffered a while, make you perfect… settle you,” echoed the Words of the Bible.
While I was reading this story I thought maybe that is what God had been doing in my life. Shaping me down here so I will fit in up there.
Maybe you are struggling with the consequences of your sin. Maybe you are struggling physically or spiritually. Maybe like Billy Graham’s friend your faith is the only thing you have left. I want you to know your faith is enough and that the good Lord could be shaping you down here so you will fit in up there.
