The Man Who Cared for Orphans: The Story of George Muller
As a kid, George Muller was a thief, liar, drunkard, and gambler. Not the sort of person you’d expect God to use to rescue thousands of orphans. But all that changed one night when he was in college.
George went to a Bible meeting with a friend, and his life dramatically changed. He went to the Bible meeting again the next night, and the next, and soon he was on his knees, asking God to forgive him of his sins. Quitting his previous lifestyle, he was now determined God wanted him to be a missionary.
He headed to London to prepare to be a missionary to the Jews in Eastern Europe. But then he noticed something. There were plenty of Jews right there in London. So he began to preach to them. Then he noticed something else. There were many non-Jews who needed the gospel of Jesus Christ, too. As he thought and prayed about it, he became more and more certain that God wanted him to stay in England. And that was how he found his life’s work.
One day, after becoming a pastor and marrying a woman named Mary Groves, George was walking down a street in Bristol, England, where he now lived, when saw a sight that changed the course of his life. A girl no more than five years old was carrying her little brother and begging for a little money for food. They were alone on the streets with no parents, no one to care for them. They were orphans.
A missionary opportunity in Baghdad had opened up, but there, seeing the little orphan boy and girl, George knew something. He didn’t need to go to the mission field in Baghdad or anywhere else; there was a mission field right in front of him. Why hadn’t he seen it before? There were thousands of orphaned, homeless children in Bristol. And with God’s help, he would do something about it.
He began with the Breakfast Club, inviting children into his home for breakfast and Bible lessons. Later on, he opened an orphanage. Then another, and another. Finally, he built five large houses that over ten thousand orphans would call home.
During his life, he also founded the Scriptural Knowledge Institute for Home and Abroad. Later on in his life he spoke in many different countries, while still caring for orphans in Bristol. Through it all, he never asked anyone for money, instead trusting God to supply all their needs. God always did.
One day, there was no food to feed over a thousand children for breakfast. So George had the children sit down and they thanked God for the food, even though there wasn’t any food yet. But they trusted God would provide and He did. Soon, there was a knock on the door. It was the baker with plenty of fresh bread for all of them, explaining that God had woke him up and told him to bake it for them. Soon after, there was another knock. This time it was the milkman. He explained that his cart had just broken down and he needed to unload his milk. He told them they could take the milk, free of charge. As always, God had provided.
George continued to care for orphans until his death in 1898.
Source:
George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans by Janet and Geoff Benge
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