Oh, the stories we will tell.

Last week I was involved in a conversation about George Mueller who is credited for caring for 10,000 orphans and building orphanages without ever asking for money…ever.

He trusted God to provide.

I recounted a story about Mueller this past week to some friends. I found it online HERE within seconds. The story is famous.

“The children are dressed and ready for school. But there is no food for them to eat,” the housemother of the orphanage informed George Mueller. George asked her to take the 300 children into the dining room and have them sit at the tables. He thanked God for the food and waited. George knew God would provide food for the children as he always did. Within minutes, a baker knocked on the door. “Mr. Mueller,” he said, “last night I could not sleep. Somehow I knew that you would need bread this morning. I got up and baked three batches for you. I will bring it in.”

Soon, there was another knock at the door. It was the milkman. His cart had broken down in front of the orphanage. The milk would spoil by the time the wheel was fixed. He asked George if he could use some free milk. George smiled as the milkman brought in ten large cans of milk. It was just enough for the 300 thirsty children.

After telling the story, someone commented that if we are looking for the George Mueller stories, we will miss other less dramatic God stories. I have been mulling that comment over in my mind. The story is never the point. The faith that produces such stories is the point. I wondered if it was possible for me to have the faith of George Mueller this week.

How do we trust God fully in the midst of the comfortable?

• Realize we have no power in ourselves, as in NONE.

John 15:4-5 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

• Realize we have all power in Christ.

Once our hearts absorb this truth, we are on our way to trust like Mueller. This truth makes us desperate. This truth shifts our faith in plans and reliable transportation and skill sets to HIM ALONE.

We sit at a table with God as our only hope.

When I woke up each morning this week I prayed, “Lord, I am as desperate as George Mueller sitting at a table of orphans with no food on the table. Unless you show up, my life will be powerless.” This isn’t pretend.  This is my life’s reality…and yours…even in comfortable circumstances.

We have no power apart from Christ.

Sure, we can go through the motions in our comfort. I can drive my reliable care to my job and perform tasks I have practiced for years and exchange sentences with people in conversation. The time will pass. The day will end. On the outside, I will most likely look like I always do, but living with trust in myself instead of God leads to powerless living. Trusting my myself means God has not been invited to unleash His power through me. Truth is, He is the one that starts my car, transforms my normal job activities into something transformative, and imputes words of wisdom even as I open my mouth so that people don’t get Laurie’s thoughts, but God’s wisdom instead.

My week looked normal, but it wasn’t.

If you trusted God this week to live your life, your life wasn’t normal either. Maybe God’s intervention in our lives this week would not be visible, but thankfully, God looks at our hearts. I am utterly convinced that when we are in heaven, anyone who trusted in God amidst their normal activities this week will see fireworks launching from history’s calendar on February 13-19 of 2022. God showed up. He had to, because He was invited. He is aching to show up to reveal His glory to the watching world!

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

We will have stories to tell.

We can rejoice together that our lives mattered in eternal ways this week, even if we can’t tell the story quite yet. God showed up as strongly as He did for George Mueller and his orphans. May we all find a way to fully understand that without God we have NOTHING even if we are comfortable. And may we each find a way to live with DESPERATE faith even in our comfort.

Picture Explanation: Blog #400 quietly published last week. I hadn’t noticed. A blog has published each week for 7.7 years on a website with 31,207 all time views. I don’t know what my faithful practice has produced for God’s glory but I will find out one day. The same is true of you in your quiet practices of service that no one notices, mentions, comments on or rewards. Let’s never quit doing what He asks of us with full trust that if someone needs to knock on our door with provision, then that is exactly what will happen.

My husband celebrated me with his stellar grilling skills and menu choices. My son-in-law gave me roses from Trader Joe’s. And is our custom on holidays, children wake up to a decorated kitchen table. I am starting to grieve the last of our children leaving home. It’s not quite here yet, but these customs have a life-span. All the more reason to not waste a second of our lives living in our strength instead of His.

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