George Müller

In the past few weeks our hearts have truly been burdened for the people here.  There is a deep spiritual void and we know that God has placed us here so that we can point others to Him.  However, our ministry is not based on just the two of us.  We rely on others to pray for us and to support our work financially.  We have been asking God how we can best share our life and ministry with others, so that they may come to share in this burden.  God led us to the story of George Müller who was a Christian Evangelist who lived and worked in England during the 1800s. He is best known for his work with orphans. He and his wife began their ministry in their own home, providing what they could, when they could, from food to education. What is remarkable about their story is that they never asked for financial support of their work. And yet, they were able to reach over 10,000 orphans and raised nearly $3 million (in today's terms). 


They constantly thanked God for providing for their needs, even before they had been met.  One account that I read recently, stated that one morning as they gathered for breakfast and prayed to thank God for His provision, even though they had no food to eat, the local baker knocked on the door with bread for everyone. A few moments later the milk man's truck broke down in front of their home, and so he gave all of his milk to the orphans. God provided. 


Their ministry was so well provided for, at times, that Müller was actually criticized for treating the orphans too well-- according to those who felt poverty and being in orphan was an acceptable social class.  But, he continued his work and remarkably never went into debt, even while caring for nearly 2,000 children at the same time. Müller recognized that it is ultimately God who provides. Yes, often times He uses other people-- say a milk man with an inoperable truck full of milk, or a baker who is just passing by-- but it is still He who does the providing. 


So what else do we learn from Müller?  He simply prayed. He asked God to burden people's hearts for the orphans of England-- and He did. In the same way, we are trusting God to provide for our needs in Belgium so that we can continue to serve Him here. We are asking God to break our own hearts for those who do not know Him here. Less than 1% of the people here are Christians (Protestant), that's roughly 10,000 people in a country that's the size of Maryland. There are many seeds to plant, and some that we hope we are blessed to harvest. We are here, waiting expectantly on God, praying that He burdens the hearts of others for the people of Belgium. Will you pray with us?