Evangelist Will Graham, the grandson of the late Rev. Billy Graham, has never had a verse of the year. This year, though, was different, he said.
Last month, Graham released his first-ever book, “Redeemed: Devotions for the Longing Soul,” a devotional book he began working on before his grandfather, who would have turned 100 years old Wednesday, passed away.
“I knew that one day I would be writing a book,” Graham said during an interview with Faithwire, “I just didn’t know when; God never gave me an OK to start writing.”
But that changed last year, when he was approached by a few people who encouraged the 43-year-old evangelist to finally release a book, an undertaking Graham described as “an act of obedience.”
My nephews found Redeemed in the store! pic.twitter.com/prGbrYA09E
— Will Graham (@TellaGraham) October 23, 2018
The topic of the book — redemption — came as a result of a “theme verse” Graham focused on last year, a common practice he “never ever” participated in before because he though it was “corny.”
“But this one just kept showing up,” Graham said.
The verse was Psalm 107:9, which reads, “For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”
In a season of great hopelessness and uncertainty, Graham said he hopes the book speaks into readers’ lives and gives them renewed hope in God’s promises.
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“There’s a spiritual moral decay in our country,” he explained. “The political world is just a symptom of our greater need, and that’s a spiritual need. There’s a lot of hurting people out there.”
The book, which Graham finished not long before his beloved grandfather died in February, is now available wherever books are sold.
As for the iconic evangelist’s death, Graham said the family is “doing OK.” He said they “knew this day would come,” adding the family was “disappointed” he didn’t quite make it to 100 years old.
The “biggest concern,” Graham said, is his 70-year-old aunt, Anne Graham Lotz, who is currently battling breast cancer. He’s confident, though, that God “has a good plan for her.”
“She’s doing fine. It’s just chemo, it’s bad stuff,” he said. “She’s dealing with that right now, probably just worn out and tired, like anybody else that goes through chemo. It’s a tough time.”