Guest post by Kaitlyn Donihue.
The captain paced back and forth on the ship’s deck. All around him swirled a dense fog. For twenty-two hours, he had not left the bridge. The fowl weather was making sailing perilous and the safety of his crew and passengers was weighing heavily on his mind.
A tap on his shoulder made him jump.
“Captain,” said the man, whose name was George Muller, “I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.”
“It is impossible,” said the captain, looking again at the dense fog that was surrounding his ship.
“Very well,” replied George Muller. “If your ship can’t take me God will find some other means of locomotion to take me. I have never broken an engagement in fifty-seven years.”
“I would willingly help you,” said the captain. “But how can I? I am helpless.”
“Let us go down to the chart room and pray,” said George Muller turning to lead the way.
The captain stood staring after him. What lunatic asylum could the man have come from? I never heard of such a thing.
Following behind, the captain called, “Mr. Muller, do you know how dense this fog is?”
“No,” he replied, “my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God, who controls every circumstance of my life.”
Once inside, the captain followed George’s example and knelt.
“O Lord,” George Muller prayed, “if it is consistent with Thy will, please remove this fog in five minutes. You know the engagement You made for me in Quebec for Saturday. I believe it is Your will.”
The captain shifted uncomfortably. That prayer would suit a children’s class, where the children were not more than eight or nine years of age, but it seems rather foolish coming from a grown man.
Clearing his throat, the captain began to pray but George Muller put his hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
“First,” he said, “you do not believe God will do it; and, second, I believe He has done it. And there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.
“Captain, I have known my Lord for fifty-seven years and there has never been a single day that I have failed to gain an audience with the King. Get up, Captain, and open the door, you will find the fog is gone.”
Getting up, the captain opened the door. Just as George had said, the fog was gone!
On Saturday afternoon George Muller was in Quebec.
Keeping a Quiet Heart
Do you have the kind of faith George Muller had? A stubborn faith? A faith that is fixed on God regardless of circumstances?
Psalm xlvi.10a says, “Be still, and know that I am God;” (ESV)
When I read this passage I often think of a physical position of stillness. But this passage seems to be getting at a position of the heart. We are called as Christians to have a quiet heart, a heart that is at rest.
How can we keep a quiet heart in the midst of the chaos of our world?
We must know who our God is. When we know our God – His heart, His power, His love – no matter what is going on around us we can be still.
George Muller lived this out. In the middle of thick fog and raging waves, it would have been so easy to give way to frustration or worry. Instead, his heart was at rest in his God. He knew who his God was. He knew that God had ultimate control over every situation and so, his heart was at rest.
Psalm xcl.1 says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” (NKJV)
The Greek word translated ‘abide’ in this passage conveys the idea of stubbornness and obstinacy. We are to obstinately abide under the shadow – the protection of our God – no matter what circumstances come our way. Nothing should move us from that position of abiding, of trust in God.
Do you have that?
I know that all too often, I don’t. Circumstances easily overwhelm me and rob me of faith. I’m so quick to forget how great my God is.
All too often the circumstances of my life set my heart ablaze with worry. But our call as believers is to have the child-like trust of George Muller that says, in every circumstance, “my eye is not on the density of the fog- the horrible situation I am facing – but on the living God, who controls every circumstance of my life.”
In Christ
Kaitlyn