FollowBy Beau Leaman
When I think of being doers of the Word I am reminded of Ephesians 2:8-9. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. Not of works lest anyone should boast.” I am reminded of a hero in the faith when pondering this. His name was George Mueller, and you can read about his amazing life below:
“George Mueller was a native German who lived to see most of the 19th century. He was a father, husband, and a preacher. He was a man revered by many. At his funeral tens of thousands of people left their work places, left their houses, and left their orphanages to pay their respects. George Mueller opened 5 large orphan houses and cared for 10,204 orphans in his lifetime. One of the great effects of Mueller’s ministry was to inspire others so that fifty years after Mr. Mueller began his work, at least one hundred thousand orphans were cared for in England alone. He did all this while he was preaching three times a week from 1830 to 1898, at least 10,000 times. And when he turned 70 he fulfilled a life-long dream of missionary work for the next 17 years until he was 87. He traveled to 42 countries, preaching on average of once a day, and addressing some three million people. He had read his Bible from end to end almost 200 times. He had prayed in millions of dollars (in today’s currency) for the orphans and never asked anyone directly for money. He never took a salary in the last 68 years of his ministry, but trusted God to put in people’s hearts to send him what he needed. He never took out a loan or went into debt.” George Mueller, A Narrative of Some of the Lord’s Dealings with George Muller
George Mueller was a humble man who did not take the back seat when living out the Gospel. He not only trusted God to supply all things, but he was also a meek man while doing it. 1 Corinthians 12:9 says, “to another faith by the same Spirit.” George Mueller thought of himself not as someone who had a gift of faith, but rather as one having the grace of faith. I believe there is a stark difference between the two, and the main point is intriguing. God gave George Mueller the ability to wait on him. God gave him the ability to depend on Him. George Mueller praised God for the mercy he had been given to trust God for everything in his life. George Mueller never asked for donations, but rather prayed that people would be led in their hearts to give and be transformed through that giving.
George Mueller lived a life not only as a hearer of the word, but as a doer of the word as well. I have been challenged this week to ask God to supply all my needs. I often times find myself just hearing the gospel, but never having heart transformation. God desires a relationship with us, and he desires our heart. May God give us the strength as a body of believers to be likeminded, acknowledging that the ability to trust Him is a gift, something we have neither achieved nor earned.
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