George Müller —A man who ministered with someone more effective (humanly speaking) and more popular.

I will get right to it. Müller was the #2 pastor in his church. Was it stretching for him? Look and see:

“Mr. Müller found opportunity for the exercise of humility, for he saw that by many his brother’s gifts were much preferred to his own; yet as Mr. Craik would come to Bristol only with him as a yokefellow, God’s grace enabled him to accept the humiliation of being the less popular, and comforted him with the thought that two are better than one, and that each might possibly fill up some lack in the other, and thus both together prove a greater benefit and blessing alike to sinners and to saints—as the result showed. That same grace of God helped Mr. Müller to rise higher—nay, let us rather say, to sink lower and “in honor preferring one another,” to rejoice rather than to be envious; and like John the Baptist, to say within himself: “A man can receive nothing except it be given him from above.” (p. 98)

The reader might be tempted to think, “That is not hard. I would be humble enough to deal with it, at least for a while.” Maybe you could. Most pastors could not. How long did George Müller minister as the “second fiddle”? Until the death of Mr. Craik, an astounding 34 years. Could you imagine every week listening to your sheep, raving about someone else? Fighting thoughts of insecurity, especially knowing that the people preferred Mr. Craik’s preaching to his own. Müller’s biographer reveals his inner struggle:

“Mr. Müller’s unfeigned humility, and the docility (i.e. submissiveness) that always accompanies that unconscious grace, found new exercise when the meetings with inquirers revealed the fact that his colleague’s preaching was much more used of God that his own, in conviction and conversion.” (p. 99)

I am a pastor. This would be brutal. To preach “my guts out” and then to hear this response….."Hey, when is the other pastor going to preach again?” would be at best “humbling” and at worst “depressing”. Yet read the classic response of Müller:

“This discovery led to much self-searching (obviously!!), and he concluded that three reasons lay back of this fact: first, Mr. Craik was more spirirtually-minded than himself; second, he was more earnest in prayer for converting power; and third, he oftener spoke directly to the unsaved, in his public ministrations.” (p. 100)

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry at that response, but I do know my response probably wouldn’t look like that (at least not immediately).

So what can we learn?

Müller was thankful for his co-laborer.

No seeds of bitterness. No moments of “slanderous whispering”. No politicking. Müller seemed to genuinely enjoy the response given to his co-laborer. To his credit, this is the obvious “fruit” of a follower of Christ. For Müller, this was a simple application of I Cor. 13:4-6.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

If he loved Mr. Craik, why be envious of his reception? If he loved Mr. Craik, why would he demand to preach every week, if Mr. Craik was more gifted? If he loved Mr. Craik, why he becomes resentful knowing that he is obviously “blessed by God” and living squarely in His will? Yet most of us in our daily lives disregard or twist these commands of God.

How often are we envious or resentful of a co-worker who seems to advance up the corporate ladder, especially when we work harder and with more integrity (at least in our opinion)? Or how often do the seeds of bitterness begin to sprout when one spouse “does not get their way”? Or when a spouse seems to be growing more in the Lord and others are affirming it, but you find yourself NOT “rejoicing with the truth”. This is why we need God’s sanctifying grace, a grace that He generously bestows (James 4:6).

Müller looked at himself.

Please understand that self-introspective can be harmful. Robert Murray McCheyne said it well, “For every look at self, take ten looks at Christ.” Yet I believe Müller was balanced. He took an honest assessment of himself, sought to be teachable and humbly “stayed the course”.

How quick do we look at ourselves? If you were Müller, would you have the same response or would you start making excuses (like these)?

“These people don’t get good preaching.”

“Mr. Craik is just more of an “ear-tickler” than I am.”

“Maybe I should go and pastor another church.”

Tempting, isn’t it? Our daily lives give us plenty of moments to be humble, even INVITE constructive criticism. Yet many of us choose a different path. We blame our parents. We blame our situation. We blame our co-workers. We blame our past. Scripture tells us to “think different”. The verse below says it all:

Philippians 3:13-14 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Sadly, this "thinking" is foreign, especially with those who struggle with depression. These individuals are usually self-consumed, rather than consumed by Christ and the glories of eternal life.

In other words, if the goal is to protect our reputation or seek the “applause of men”, then YOU ARE PRESSING TOWARDS THE WRONG PRIZE. 

Müller acknowledged God’s sovereign hand.

This admission cut multiple ways in the spiritual development of George Müller. First, it brought comfort since he knew that “a man can receive nothing except it be given him from above” (James 1:17). Therefore, how can Müller be resentful at Mr. Craik since it is God who gave him these gifts? Furthermore, if God gave Mr. Craik these gifts and He states that His word will not return empty (Isa. 55:11), how could God not fulfill His promise, specifically through the mouthpiece of his co-laborer.

Second, the sovereignty of God is not just seen in the elevation of His servants, it is also shown through the humbling of His servants. Apparently, God in His goodness, planned that the “redwood growth” observed by others would come through the daily exercise of “living in the shadow of Mr. Craik”. Whether Müller perceived it fully or not, this “exercise” helped force him to his knees and fuse the daily habit of persistent prayer, a discipline that brought (by Müller's estimation) 50,000+ specific answers over a 60 year span.

It is amazing to me how many Christians cherish the sovereignty of God in the “major” moments, but miss the blessings during the “minor” moments. God loves us and puts events in our lives to break us, to mold us, to humble us, to remind us that He is the Potter and we are the clay (Jer. 18:6).

I am striving to trust God enough to grow me in His time, through His methods, to His glory (James 1:2-4)