George Mueller was born in 1805. He wasted his younger years to partying, loose living, swindling and even spent some time in prison. So consumed with this life that as his mother lay dying, he was out partying. In college he gave his life to Christ and quickly rather than listening to his own voice, he allowed God to dictate the course of his future. In his mid 20’s he left his native Prussia and took residency in Bristol, England and pastored a church there. He founded a couple of small day schools, Sunday schools and adult schools. He then founded the Scriptural Knowledge Institute. By the end of his life’s completely trusting God’s strength this grew to 72 schools with over 7000 students. He had a heart for orphans and what began as a small orphanage grew to 2000 orphans being cared for. He never had enough funds or supplies to tend to all of their needs. But, time after time and example after example he turned the impossible over to God and His prayers were answered. George Mueller serves as an example of what can happen when one yields to the power of the Holy Spirit rather than the limited power within ourselves.
We read in 1 Samuel 10:6-7, “Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you.” In 9:21, we meet a very humble Saul who feels unworthy of the honor being bestowed upon him. But after he is empowered by the Spirit of God and it is time to be announced king before all of Israel, we read in10:22, as they called him by name, “Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.” Though this might appear as humility this is actually a sign of weakness as God had already clearly called him into this role, he hid in fear, rather than stepping out in His power to answer His calling.
Every one of us who calls God our Father and Jesus our Savior has been given a calling on his or her life. It might not be as large as George Mueller or King Saul, but it is a calling, nonetheless. The question is whose voice are we listening to. When called to a challenge bigger than we feel comfortable with, do we put our trust in God who can accomplish all things or in ourselves who can accomplish very little without Him. The power of the Holy Spirit is transformational in the life of the believer. But do we fight it or yield to it. At the end of our lives the legacy we leave behind to our families, our friends and acquaintances will have most to do with what voice we chose to listen to. We, too often sell ourselves short, resisting making a move for fear of the reactions of others. But Jesus clearly stated in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” God has His army, and we are it. What a force we could be if we would only submit to our Commanding Officer.”