Altar Call – Opelika-Auburn News
Walter Albritton
September 5, 2010
His
voice was like thunder in that huge auditorium
It
was the summer after we buried our boy in May. We sought relief from our grief
by taking a vacation at
Sitting
under the ministry of Billy Graham for a few days would renew our faith. We
admired his strong preaching. The death of our son had not broken us but our
hearts were heavy. We needed a time of healing.
Billy
Graham was as stirring as ever. The huge auditorium was packed morning and
night as hundreds of people flocked to hear him. We stood in a long line one
day and finally got to shake his hand. Like others we were awed by Graham’s
persuasive preaching.
Graham
shared the pulpit with another preacher, W. E. Sangster from
Every
word he spoke had the ring of truth about it. It was as if God was speaking
directly to my questioning mind and answering questions I had not even asked.
Never had I been more convinced that God himself was speaking to me. I listened
intently, eager to drink in what I was certain was eternal truth.
I
had many questions. Why had God, if he is love, allowed our son to die? Why had
he not healed him in answer to our prayers? Why should a little child have to
suffer when he had done no wrong? Why had God given him to us if he was going
to take him from us before he could grow up? Was his death punishment for my
own sins? Is God really “out there” and if he is, why doesn’t he say something
when I beg him for help?
Finally
God did reply. He was silent when David was suffering. Now, two months after
our son’s burial, God spoke. He spoke through Sangster. How do I know? I know.
I was there. Though it happened 50 years ago, I remember it like it was
yesterday. God answered me through the voice of his servant, an English
preacher named Sangster.
I
had felt sorry for Sangster. He would be no match for Billy Graham as a
presence in the pulpit. But I was wrong. Sangster was older and wiser than
Graham. And though his style was quite different, the man could preach. As the
week went on, many of us realized we were listening to two of the world’s
greatest preachers.
What
did I hear from God? Not what I wanted to hear, believe me. I wanted something
soothing; what I got was disturbing.
Sangster
said, “You must stop dealing with your problems. You must deal with God! You
get nowhere by grappling with cancer or some tragedy. You must wrestle with God for God is the
sovereign God of the universe and he allows
whatever happens to you. He does not will
evil but he allows it. The world is
not out of control; God is in control and he allows bad things to happen.” For me that was an entirely new
concept.
He
went on to insist that God has a purpose in allowing tragedy even though we may
never understand why he allows it. We can find peace only by accepting God’s
sovereignty in our lives and believing that in all things he is always working
for our good. God is not accountable to us for his actions; on the contrary, we
are accountable to God for our actions and reactions. And God loves us even
when he allows bad things to happen in our lives.
As
much as I was able I surrendered my stubborn, agnostic questioning to God that
week. I began to rethink our son’s death in a new way, a way that helped me see
suffering in a new light. Slowly I tried to embrace the message God gave me
through a preacher I would never hear again. After 50 years I am still
embracing his message for it is strong medicine.
A
few years later word came from
I
have journeyed to