Common Thief to Uncommon Hero

The Lord forgives our sins, heals us when we are sick, and protects us from death. His kindness and love are a crown on our heads. Each day that we live, he provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle.

Psalm 103:3-5 (CEV)

Being an orphan in England in the 1800s left very little hope. If the government found you, you’d be sent to workhouses with terrible conditions. Out on the street, you had to fight and steal to survive. And while some felt pity on these children, few people did anything to make things better for them.

That is, until an immigrant preacher came to Bristol. George Müller had grown up in Prussia (Germany) and was mostly known for being a thief. But in college he met Jesus, and his life was changed. When he took a job at a church, he saw the troubles of the orphans and he felt compassion.

The boy who once chose to steal to get what he wanted became a man who asked God for everything. He refused to ask people directly for money; instead, he prayed about each need. In this way, Müller and his wife cared for and taught thousands of orphans and gave away the equivalent of over 100 million dollars.

Müller’s life was a living example of how the Lord forgives and changes people, and how he provides for their needs, as Psalm 103 declares. Because Müller was faithful and willing to do things God’s way and not force his own agenda, God used him to change the path of thousands.

How can God use you? Are you open to his plan and purpose? Whatever he’s got in store for you, it’s bound to me amazing!

SPIRITUAL FITNESS TRAINING

People in our world continue to suffer many wrongs, like poverty, homelessness, drug abuse, alcohol addiction, pornography, child labor, sex trafficking . . . and the list, sadly, goes on. Which one especially bothers you? Pray for those who are suffering in that way and ask God to use you to help others.

INSPIRATION

“Leave the broken, irreversible past in God’s hands, and step out into the invincible future with him.”

—Oswald Chambers, American pastor in the early 1900s and author of the book My Utmost for His Highest

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help you expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Swipe to read the passages today.

Psalm 103:9-10

Isaiah 58:11

2 Corinthians 9:8

Ephesians 3:20-21