Muller On Building Your Faith

1. Carefully read the Word and meditate on it. Through reading the Word of God, and especially through meditation on it, the believer becomes acquainted with the nature and character of God. Besides God’s holiness and justice, he realizes what a kind, loving, gracious, merciful, mighty, wise, and faithful Father He is. Therefore, in poverty, affliction, death of  loved ones, difficulty in service, or financial need, he will rest on the ability of God to help him. He has learned from the Word that God is almighty in power, infinite in wisdom, and ready to help and deliver His people. Reading the Word of God, together with meditation on it, is an excellent way to strengthen faith.

2. We must maintain an upright heart and a good conscience and not knowingly and habitually indulge in things which are contrary to the mind of God. How can I possibly continue to act in faith if I grieve the Lord and detract from His glory and honor? All my confidence in God and all my leaning on Him in the hour of trial will be gone if I have a guilty conscience and yet continue in sin. If I cannot trust in God because of a guilty conscience, my faith is weakened.

With every fresh trial, faith either increases by trusting God and getting help, or it decreases by not trusting Him. A habit of self-dependence is either defeated or encouraged. If we trust in God, we do not trust ourselves, our fellowmen, circumstances, or in anything else. If we do trust in one or more of these, we do not trust in God.

3. If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried. The more I am in a position to be tried in faith, the more I will have the opportunity of seeing God’s help and deliverance. Every fresh instance in which He helps and delivers me will increase my faith. The believer should not shrink from situations, positions, or circumstances in which his faith may be tried, but he should cheerfully embrace them as opportunities to see the hand of God stretched out in help and deliverance. Thus his faith will be strengthened.

4. The last important point for the strengthening of our faith is that we let God work for us and do not work a deliverance of our own. When a trial of faith comes, we are naturally inclined to distrust God and to trust in ourselves, in our friends, or in circumstances. We would rather work a deliverance of our own than simply look to God and wait for His help. But if we do not patiently wait for God’s help, or if we work a deliverance of our own, then at the next trial of our faith we will have the same problem. We will again be inclined to try and deliver ourselves. With every fresh trial, our faith will decrease. On the contrary, if we stand firm in order to see the salvation of God, trusting in Him alone, our faith will be increased. Every time we see the hand of God stretched out on our behalf in the hour of trial, our faith would be increased even more. God will prove His willingness to help and deliver at the perfect time.

-George Muller, The Autobiography of George Muller

 

Muller On Sleep

I want to encourage all believers to get into the habit of rising early to meet with God. How much time should be allowed for rest? No rule of universal application can be given because all persons do not require the same amount of sleep. Also the same persons, at different times, according to the strength or weakness of their body, may require more or less. Most doctors agree that healthy men do not require more than between six or seven hours of sleep, and women need no more than seven or eight hours.

Children of God should be careful not to allow themselves too little sleep since few men can do with less than six hours of sleep and still be well in body and mind. As a young man, before I went to university, I went to bed regularly at ten and rose at four, studied hard, and was in good health. Since I have allowed myself only about seven hours, I have been much better in body and in nerves that when I spent eight or eight and a half hours in bed.

Someone may ask, “But why should I rise early?” To remain too long in bed is a waste of time. Wasting time is unbecoming a saint who is bought by the precious blood of Jesus. His time and all he has is to be used for the Lord. If we sleep more than is necessary for the refreshment of the body, it is wasting the time the Lord has entrusted us to be used for His glory, for our own benefit, and for the benefit of the saints and unbelievers around us.

Just as too much food injures the body, the same is true regarding sleep. Medical persons would readily agree that lying longer in bed than is necessary to strengthen the body actually weakens it.

It also injures the soul. Lying too long in bed not merely keeps us from giving the most precious part of the day to prayer and meditation, but this sloth leads also to many other evils. Anyone who spends one, two, or three hours in prayer and meditation before breakfast will soon discover the beneficial effect early rising has on the outward and inward man.

It may be said, “But how shall I set about rising early?” My advice is: Do not delay. Begin tomorrow. But do not depend on your own strength. You may have begun to rise early in the past but have given it up. If you depend on your own strength in this matter, it will come to nothing. In every good work, we must depend on the Lord. If anyone rises so that he may give the time which he takes from sleep to prayer and meditation, let him be sure that Satan will try to put obstacles in the way.

Trust in the Lord for help. You will honor Him if you expect help from Him in this matter. Pray for help, expect help, and you will have it. In addition to this, go to bed early. If you stay up late, you cannot rise early. Let no pressure of engagements keep you from going habitually early to bed. If you fail at this, you neither can nor should get up early because your body requires rest.

Rise at once when you are awake. Remain not a minute longer in bed or else you are likely to fall asleep again. Do not be discouraged by feeling drowsy and tired from rising early. This will soon wear off. After a few days, you will feel stronger and fresher than when you used to lie an hour or two longer than you needed. Always allow yourself the same hours for sleep. Make no change except on account of sickness.

-George Muller, The Autobiography of George Muller, Chapter 12

Psalm 61:2

Sometimes life throws you a curveball that you never thought you’d see coming. You know, those curveballs that really hurt when they hit you because, you trusted much and loved much and now it all seems for naught. Why people do the things they do in the ways that they do them will always be a mystery. But one thing is not a mystery. And that is the love of God. He promises to always be there for us. God will never betray any of His own, for He is our Rock & Fortress … we can run to Him and be safe.

Favorite Reads of 2016

I finally whittled down my favorite reads from 2016 to the top eight you see above. Out of the 52 books that I read last year, these were the ones that stayed with me and touched me the most. And of course, they’re ones that I would recommend everyone read. So if you haven’t read these yet, I highly encourage you to put them on your 2017 reading list.

• Evidence No Seen by: Darlene Diebler Rose
• Things We Couldn’t Say by: Diet Eman
• Twice a Slave by: Randy Willis & Sammy Tippitt
• Life Together by: Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• The True Gospel of Christ Versus the False Gospel of Carnal Christianity by: L.R. Shelton Jr.
• Keep the Faith Vol. 1 & 2 by: Kevin Swanson
• Hearts of Fire by: Voice Of the Martyrs

End of Winter | Beginning of Spring

“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell…” Song of Solomon 2: 11-13

With Spring just around the corner, the anticipation of what’s to come is extra high. And so it should be. Spring means warmer weather, sunshine, and color, lots of it; color in leaves, flowers, grass, greenery, growing fruits, vegetables, and so on. With the end of winter comes the beginning of life. And I am so grateful. I am reminded that no matter what I may go through in life, God will always make a new beginning (whether on this earth or in Heaven). With the end of the winter of trials comes the spring of newfound joy and peace in the Saviour. He does indeed make all things beautiful in His time.

My Top Reads of 2015

Well, I didn’t quite manage either of the two reading goals I had originally started with. The first was 100 books, but I soon realized that it just wasn’t going to happen no matter how fast I read. So, I changed it to 60 books and that once again proved to be too ambitious also as I only managed to read 40 books this year. Oh well, at least I did read a good bit. Not gonna beat myself up over that.

So, I’ve been seeing “favorite reads of 2015” posts around and thought I’d go ahead and put one up too even though I blog monthly on my favorite reads. The six books you see up there have made it to my “top reads of the year”. And to make it to this post, it has to be a book that I would read again. Oh, and did I mention that I almost never read books twice? So, you have my word for it that these are really great books. And I gotta say, I’m quite surprised that half of the books on this list are fiction. I’ve always considered myself a non-fiction girl.

• Out of the Depths: I read this book in one sitting. It is the story of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, written by a Christian sailor who survived the torpedo bombing and the four days at sea before rescue in shark infested salt water. I so appreciated his Christian testimony throughout and hearing how the Lord kept him and others strong and sane in an extremely trying ordeal.
• Cheaper by the Dozen: If you’ve ever seen the movie, you will want to read the book. The story of the Frank Gilbreth family will probably have you laughing at times, as it did me. An easy, interesting read, and I hear there are two other books in the series.
• Boston Jane: An Adventure:
• Boston Jane: The Claim:I loved these books and series (though I was disappointed to not be able to read the second book as my library doesn’t have it). It reminded me so much of Gloria Whelan’s Island trilogy, which are some of my very favorite historical fiction books. This series is set in the mid 1800’s in first Philadephia and then Oregon and chronicles the adventures of tomboyish-turned-lady Jane Peck.
• Adam of the Road: Set in medieval times, this fictional story tells the adventures and journeys of the young minstrel Adam. I found this to be an interesting, pleasant read and appropriate for all ages.
• Getting To No: This was the best book I have ever read on killing sin in your life. Lutzer did a fabulous job addressing every question and inner thought one might have related to sin in one’s life. Each chapter ends with discussion questions, which can be worked through alone or with a discussion group. I highly, highly recommend that every Christian read this book.