Skip to main content

The Providence of God in the Work of the Gospel, Part II, by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous


The Providence of God in the Work of the Gospel, Part II
By Pastor Charlie

     When George Müller was twenty-two years old, he learned of a missionary opportunity in Bucharest, Romania and applied for it. However, the Lord closed that door and opened the way for Müller to be a missionary to the Jews. This was welcome news, but it required him to travel to London for prayer and planning which he reluctantly agreed to do (Autobiography of George Müller, Westminster Literature, page 23-26).
     But no sooner had Müller began to prepare, he ran into a major obstacle. As a university graduate, he was required to complete one year of service in the Prussian army (non-graduated were required to complete three-years of service). In certain cases, people were granted exemptions, including those who had given themselves to missionary service. Unfortunately, Müller’s first two attempts at exemption were denied and he began to fall into a depression and also fell ill.
     Just at that time, a good companion of his backslid. This really threw Müller for a loop, and unfortunately, he began backsliding himself. But in his grace, the Lord disciplined Müller through the pain he found in backsliding and a further illness. “Thus, the Lord, in the faithful love of His heart, seeing that I was in a backsliding state, chastised me for my profit, and the chastisement yielded, in a measure at least, ‘the peaceable fruit of righteousness’” (page 26; see Hebrews 12:10-11).
     Around that time, Müller received an invitation to come to Berlin where a friend thought he might be able to help him gain an exemption from military service. After a time of prayer, he decided to go, but unfortunately, they could not attain what was needed. Finally, someone advised him to put himself forward for service in the hope that his poor state of health would disqualify him from being accepted. It was a huge risk, but Müller took it, and he was indeed found to be unfit. Then, by the amazing grace of God, he was granted a lifetime exemption from service and was given counsel and several Scriptures for the Jews from the military official who granted the exemption! Amazing.
     In a couple of weeks from now, we’ll hear about the next part of Müller’s journey, but for now, please reflect on what you’ve read and ponder the providence of God. How do you see the Lord working in Müller? What might we learn from the Lord’s work in his life? How is the Lord working through discipline and circumstances to guide you in the way you should go?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reflective Glory: How the Moon Displays the Mercy of God

By
Our sun is a fitting metaphor for the glory of God. In the context of our solar system, it is massive, bright, beautiful, powerful, self-sufficient, heat-producing, life-giving, and dangerous. It is, by far, the dominant feature of our solar system and without it the system would fling apart and all living things therein would die.  On the other hand, our moon is a fitting metaphor for human beings, especially for those who believe in Jesus Christ. First, compared to the sun, the moon is tiny and dim. The sun is 400 times larger than the moon, its mass is 27 million times greater than the mass of the moon, and from our perspective its light shines 450,000 times brighter than that of the moon. The sun is so much greater than the moon that it’s difficult to quantify and express the difference. Likewise, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is so much great than each and all of us that it’s impossible to quantify or express the difference. Indeed, the Lord is very great and greatly...
Post a Comment
Read more

Update on Sarah Fergus

By
Here is an update that we just sent to our church regarding Sarah Fergus who is heading off soon to serve the Lord in Madagascar. If you're interested in helping Sarah, please write me a note and I'll be glad to pass it on to her. One way or the other, please join us in prayer! Dear Glory of Christ Fellowship, Thank you for all your prayers in the last few weeks. I have been very encouraged by many of you on Sunday mornings and after visiting several community groups. This church really is a blessing to me as I am being constantly reminded that I am not alone in this. One huge praise is that in the last week I was pledged about half of what I still needed for monthly support! Reminder of dates: Dec 13th is when I need financial clearance. Jan 8th is my planned departure date. Finance Update: Total amount still needed per month: $279 Breakdown: 6 people at $50 a month 12 people at $25 a month Please continue to keep this in prayer for the next few weeks. I also have a lot to...
Post a Comment
Read more

When Children Say "I'm Bored" By Julie Lowe

By
This Article is written by Julie Lowe and was originally posted on the CCEF blog.  I highlighted the areas of particular interest. I had already prepared a blogpost on dealing with boredom from a Christian worldview and then came across this. There is much overlap between the two, perhaps this one is more concise while my work attempts to explain the connection between the ability to think and the ability to be happy. You can visit the original blogpost in the link provided below.  https://www.ccef.org/resources/blog/children-say-im-bored   We have a common crisis in our home; it is the calamity of boredom. Our children might even consider it a catastrophe. “I’m bored” is repeated so often it would not be an overstatement to say that these words echo continuously throughout our home especially during any break from school. These are children with limited media time but still children with a Wii and Xbox system, a pool outside our door, multiple games, toy...
Post a Comment
Read more