“When I was dying of tuberculosis as a boy, dozens and dozens of church people were praying, some of them fasting and praying, but my life was not touched.
Finally, the night came when I had a consciousness of His presence.
Christ spoke to me and asked me if I would preach the gospel. He showed me a casket on one side of my bed and an open Bible on the other. He said, “Now, which one of these would you choose?” He did not heal me until I had placed Him at the very center of all my being. When He took first place in my heart, in that moment, healing was irrelevant. The thing that mattered was that Christ was the center of my life. I made Him the preeminent one. I said yes for eternity, and not only did I have an experience, I had a Person.
I embraced Him with my whole heart.
I became His in the deepest thought of my mind and the strongest feeling of my heart. I was His in the most deliberative choice of my own will. I became His to work and to witness, His to preach the gospel, His to suffer and to live, and if needs be, to die for Him.
We need to find a demonstration of Christ’s love in our hearts that will draw us closer to His bosom. Whether or not He lets you live for a few more days is not so important as knowing Him. Do you know Him in His suffering? Do you know Him in His glory? Are you conscious of His presence? This means heaven to you.”
Dr.Lester Sumrall