This is the second in a series of three. Our previous post offered Spurgeon’s reflections on Hudson Taylor. Read it here. Today we consider Spurgeon’s thoughts on George Müller.
Did you know that Charles Spurgeon and George Müller were friends?
Spurgeon was in Mentone, France in the winter of 1879 where he had the opportunity to hear George Müller preach and to meet with him on three occasions. They also shared the Lord’s Supper together twice. Spurgeon’s reflections on his friend and their time together are encouraging.
Müller Personified Order and Simplicity
“Mr. Müller has the look of personified order and simplicity: his appearance is equally removed from show and slovenliness. his face gleams with the quiet cheerfulness which comes of profound restfulness. He believes God with great reality, and practically takes him at his word, and hence his peace is as a river.”
Müller had Effectual Faith that Rejoiced in Tribulations
“His faith has wrought in him great strength of purpose. That which struck us most was his evident rejoicing in tribulations, for the only excitement which we noticed in him was at the mention of the trials of his early days, which gave such room for the display of the divine faithfulness. We do not mean that our friend desires trial, but we perceive that when it comes his heart is exceedingly glad, and his glory rejoices, because the Lord is now about to reveal himself more fully, and to honor his divine name yet again. O that we could all learn this lesson and put it into practice.”
Müller Walked with God
“Mr. Müller gives us more the idea of Enoch than any man we ever met: he habitually walks with God. Hence his whole life is his religion and his religion is his whole life.”
Müller was Consistent
The delightful placidity of the pulpit is retained in the parlor, and the graciousness which is seen in the preacher is just as manifest in the friend. “
Müller was Happy, Cheerful, Bright, Loving
“He is as bright and happy as a dear obedient child has a right to be when enjoying his Father’s love. He is no monk and could not be made into a gloomy recluse; the domestic affections are strong within him, and so also is his love to the brethren, and his desire for the good of all mankind.”
Müller was a Humble Man
“In our company he displayed to us a special affection, which we heartily reciprocate. We entertain for him a feeling of profound veneration; but in his intercourse with us his humility scarcely allowed him to perceive the fact, and there was an entire absence of anything like a sense of superiority, even of such as greater age and experience might naturally claim. our communion was very sweet to the younger of the two; may the Lord grant to him a renewal of it. We were deeply humbled at the sight of our friend’s beauty of character; not that he said a single word by way of self-praise, but the very reverse, for his total absence of self-consciousness was a leading feature in his conversation.”
Müller was Singular and Simple in Preaching
“George Müller is enabled to be one of the most useful of living preachers by his simply testifying to facts by which he has for himself proved the love and truth of God. his preaching is the gospel and nothing else. Of flowers of speech he has none, and we hardly think he cares for them; but the bread of heaven he has abundance. with speculations he does not intermeddle, but the eternal verities he handles with practical, homely, realizing faith. Modern thought and higher criticism never trouble this happy man. Free from all anxiety, he enjoys life to the utmost, and if it were right to envy any man we should certainly envy George Müller.”
Müller was A Man of Prayer
“No doubts disturb the Director of the Ashley Down Orphanage; how can they be when he sees the Lord daily feeding his 2,050 orphan children in answer to his prayers?”
What can we gain from Spurgeon’s reflections on Müller?
*Order and Simplicity: Müller was delightfully disciplined, happy with a simple and ordered life. Discipline merged with contentment and happiness results in freedom. Müller embodied such.
*Cheerful Restfulness: Over-and-over Spurgeon points to Müller’s cheerfulness and happiness. Cheerful people enjoy a continual banquet, are seldom anxious, and are best able to minister to others.
*Child-like Faith. Müller had child-like faith. He believed God, actively took God at his word, and enjoyed a restful peace and confidence as a result. His faith blessed many–including many thousands of orphans who were housed, fed, and cared for via his prayers. Müller believed that the faith that he employed, by God’s grace, was the same faith that all Christians can and should employ.
*Rejoicing in Tribulations for God’s glory. Müller rejoiced that his tribulations revealed God more fully and provided fresh opportunity for God to be glorified through his trials. Spurgeon admitted his own struggle with anxiety in troubles and wished that he along with his readers could “learn this [Müller’s] lesson.”
*Total Passion for God. “His whole life is his religion and his religion is his whole life.” Müller’s religion was not an additive to his busy life, it was his life. He was a God-consumed, God-focused, and God-loving man. Nothing of eternal value is lost and no one is loved less when God is your all consuming passion. It is just the opposite.
*Consistency. George Müller was the same man at home as he was in the pulpit, the same man at the orphanage as he was interacting with the grocer. He was a man utterly void of hypocrisy. Therefore he left behind no doubts as to his character and lived with freedom produced by honesty.
*Bright in the Father’s Love. Müller had a brightness about him from basking in God’s fatherly love. This empowered his domestic affections, brotherly love, and his desire for the good of his fellow man. Enjoying the Father’s love is a sure way to happiness, usefulness, and being loving towards others.
*Profound Humility. He lacked “anything like a sense of superiority.” Müller offered no words of self-praise and demonstrated a total “absence of self-consciousness.” Nothing is impossible through humility and dependency on God.
*Simplicity in Preaching. Müller was not impressed by what might be termed “academic preaching” that used words understood only by intellectuals. He simply preached God’s Word and was centered on the gospel. He didn’t meddled with speculations but trusted in and proclaimed the eternal verities. “Modern thought and the higher criticism never trouble this happy man. . . he hears the voice of the great Father in heaven and is deaf to all besides.”
*Prayer. George Müller’s first concern each day was to read God’s Word and pray. Prayer was his life-blood. He brought the concerns of his ministry and his personal concerns to God in prayer and he trusted and expected that God would hear and answer his prayers.
*Service for the Long Haul. Müller lived and served as long as he lived and had ability. Spurgeon wrote, “In his old age, still hale and strong, he ministers the word with ceaseless diligence, journeying from place to place as the Lord opens the doors and prepares his way.”
*Enjoy Life. Müller’s example urges us to enjoy life as a gift from God. Spurgeon said of him, “Free from all anxiety, he enjoys life to the utmost.”
Spurgeon’s regard for George Müller was as lofty as one might rightly hold towards another individual. He said, “if it were right to envy any man we should certainly envy George Müller.” Hopefully Spurgeon’s commendation of Müller will encourage you to get to better know this choice servant of God.
Adapted from Spurgeon’s thoughts on Müller written in 1879. All quotations are Spurgeon’s.
Ray Rhodes, Jr. is author of Yours, till Heaven; the Untold Love Story of Charles and Susie Spurgeon and Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon both from Moody Publishers. He is presently working on a biography of Charles Spurgeon for B&H Academic You can visit Ray on the web, order signed copies of his books, and schedule him to speak for your next event by visiting www.rayrhodesjr.com.