These are my favorite quotes from George Müller. History does not label
him the most profound Christian, but he was practical and holy. I would take
that over “profundity” any day of the week.
Here are #1--#12:
#1—“My own experience has been, almost invariably, that if I
have not the needful sleep, my
spiritual enjoyment and strength is greatly affected by it.”
The reader must digest the implications of “needful”.
Different people, different needs. But we all should be suspicious of the
flesh. In other words, the Christian must discern between needful sleep and lazy sleep.
#2—“There may occur cases when travelling by night cannot be
avoided; but if it can, though we
should seem to lose time by it, and though
it should cost more money, I would most affectionately and solemnly
recommend the refraining from night-travelling; for in addition to our drawing
beyond measure upon our bodily strength, we
will be losers spiritually.”
Here is Müller’s point: Loss of time or loss of money should be gladly given up
for the sake of constant progression in the Christian journey. Has that ever come
into your thinking as you plan your family vacation?
#3—Surely it ought not to be true that we, who have power
with God to obtain by prayer and faith all needful grace, wisdom, and skill, should be bad servants, bad tradesmen,
bad masters.”
If you are a bad worker, you are a bad testimony for Christ.
I wonder how often the name of Christ is defamed, not by a worker who occasionally
cusses, but rather a worker who is unproductive, who is only there to “collect
a paycheck”.
#4—“Every instance of obedience from right motives,
strengthens us spiritually, while ever act of disobedience weakens us spiritually.”
#5—“The longer I live, the more I
am enabled to realize that I have but one life to live on earth, and that this
one life is but a brief life, for sowing, in comparison with eternity,
for reaping.”
I never thought of “sowing” and “reaping”
in this way.
#6—“It has been my own happy lot,
during the last thirty-seven years, to become acquainted with hundreds of
individuals, who were not inferior to
apostolic Christians.”
In other words, Müller was acquainted with
legitimate, passionate, sacrificial followers of Jesus. This encourages me as a
pastor to pray not for a return to the
early church, but rather another generation of early church Christians.
#7—“As to the importance of the
children of God opening their hearts to each other, especially when they are
getting into a cold state, or are under the power of a certain sin; how often
advice, under great perplexity, has been obtained—by opening my heart to a brother in who I had confidence.”
Do you have that type of “brother”
or “sister” in Christ? If not, pray for someone. Until then, go be that “person”
to someone else!
#8—“An unvisited church will sooner or later become an unhealthy church”.
That is convicting. My favorite
quote so far.
#9—“Where faith begins, anxiety
ends; where anxiety begins, faith ends.”
#10—“It is the very time for
faith to work, when sight ceases.
The greater the difficulties, the easier for faith.”
#11—“The natural mind is ever
prone to reason, when we ought to believe; to be at work, when we ought to be quiet; to go our own way, when we ought
to steadily walk on in God’s ways, however trying to nature (i.e. against our
fleshly desires).”
How often I want answers! I don’t
want to be quiet. I don’t want to wait. The tree of a “mature” man is filled
with the “fruit of waiting”.
#12—“It is true, the Gospel
demands our ALL; but I fear that, in the general claim on ALL, we have shortened the claim on
everything.”
In other words, ALL only means
SOME. Man, if this isn’t an indictment on American Christianity….I don’t know
what is.
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