Living by faith is a beautiful concept. Most people read a biography about George Mueller or read his autobiography and think that his way of living is the right way of living. I do not disagree with you, but I will say, this way of living is NOT for the faint of heart and it takes a lifetime to master. We are still learning. I want to start this conversation by posing a question, If you can trust God for your salvation and spending eternity with Him, can you trust this amazing God with your life here on earth. THAT is the presupposition that George Mueller started with when he started the orphanage. His number 1 reason for starting the orphanage was not the orphans. His number 1 reason for starting the orphanage was to show the people in his church that God loves them and WILL provide for them. The key was that he only told God his needs. People say that George Mueller had the gift of faith. No, he did not and even he would say he did not. He exercised his muscle of faith and learned his and our God. If you read his autobiography and then read his writings when he was ninety you will see something amazing about George Mueller, a progression. As an analogy I will use body building. George Mueller in the beginning of his living by faith was like an adolescent boy not much muscles. When he was on the row houses he was like a 24 year old man somewhat ripped but that is it. I say that because he prayed hours and constantly checked mailboxes for any gifts. I would say he was calm on the outside but a bit stressed on the inside. You read when he was ninety and you have a man of faith like Mr. Olympian. He prayed a simple prayer about the needs of the orphans and went to sleep. He knew God would provide. Interesting point, when he was in the row houses he would have massive migraines when he was older he was never sick. The more you exercise your muscle of faith the more it grows.
What is the reality of living by faith? I said it is not for the faint of heart. Your bills may be late to be paid. Your kids will not be in extra curricular activities unless you start them. You will not be going on family vacations. You will be broke a lot, though you will have a roof over your head, food on your table and clothes on your back, which means God has provided. The lessons I have learned are a lot. When we moved to Colorado from California I have always said we entered God's school. From University I graduated with a major and a double minor. One of the minors is an automatic Bible minor. Doctrines was a hard class because you had to memorize passages of the Bible. I think God's school is harder because God knows you from head to toe. He knows your weaknesses and where you need to grow. He is a firm and hard teacher but One that is compassionate, loving, merciful, and kind. In 2008 when the economy crashed we lost everything. Our money came from California. Between August and September 2008 our income dropped to half because California's housing bubble bust. I was pregnant with my youngest. I am the accountant of our family. I understood the gravity of the situation. I tried to explain to Adamo but he was not following and I had zero patience to explain so I asked if I could be by myself for a while I needed to talk to God and he said yes. I was in the room for hours wrestling with God because I did not want to go through what I knew we had to go through. I cried and talked with God. I asked if I have to go through a bankruptcy could He please help me and hold my hand through it. He gave me peace. By the time I walk out the Lord strengthened me which was necessary because when Adamo realized the gravity of everything I had to be there for him for many months following the bankruptcy. The Lord provided a house to rent, which we lived in for 13 years, and a mini van, because I had to surrender our other minivan. The Lord took care of us. When I read George Mueller I struggle because I knew God can provide for us I just was not sure if He would want provide for us. I slowly learned the answer was yes. I learned the answers do not look as you expect. Some lessons I learned: 1) God doesn't work on our timetable. We didn't have the money to pay the electric bill and the due date came and went and nothing. I remember that sometimes the money came "late" and I kept trusting. The next day something sold and I could pay the bill. 2) God's answer is not what we are expecting. One of many nights we did not have anything for dinner though God always provided we never went to bed hungry. We had a package of pasta. The Lord allowed a lot of rain and the dandelions were plentiful. For Americans, it is a weed, but it is a healthy herb and Adamo had the boys help him pick up the dandelion leaves and he cleaned them and made a pasta dish with them. 3)Be thankful for even $1. I needed rent which was $1850 at the time. I received a check in the mail for $1.47 for overpayment at a doctors office. I was rejoicing because I knew God was going to provide the rest. Adamo said that is not the rent money and I said I know but if you cannot be thankful for $1.47 you will not be thankful for $1850. I learned from George Mueller as he was thankful for 6 pence. 4) God only has a plan A so get on it and stop planning plan B. Every time we tried to start plan B God never blessed it. It failed. In Psalms 139:5 David mentions "You hem me in, behind and before and lay your hand upon me. " Adamo and I affectionately call that the room with no windows and doors. We were there for years. No matter how hard you tried you cannot get out. The Lord left the top open so we could look UP. We finally got to a place we rested and looked up and found the beauty of the room. We enjoyed when the Lord let us out and we could make money, but we learned the Lord will take care of us. I have so many stories of God's provisions. One I will share is when my Italian citizenship came through. I finished the paperwork in 2015, that had its own amazing stories, Adamo asked me how will we get to Chicago when the citizenship comes through? I said I do not know but if God provided and orchestrated this far He knows. Well, in 2018 we found out. Normally, our hail season is late spring early summer. God had protected our car all these years. The hail would start after we parked in the garage or the hail stopped before we came to the area. August 2018 Adamo said as he took Leonardo to the store, " I hope it rains so I don't have to water." Within 7 to 10 minutes the heavens opened and hail poured down until it looked like snow. Our car was damaged. Our other adopt brother and uncle to the boys mentioned to call the insurance. After we got off the phone with the insurance and she said the check was in the mail, we went to Lowes, which is a hardware store. Gianluca called me and said I think your citizenship came through. I asked how do you know and he said it has your maiden name and it is from Chicago. When I got off the phone I looked at Adamo and said the hail storm was how God was going to pay for the trip for my citizenship. I had everything paid for and as we were leaving, there was an envelope on the door. Inside there was $500. I wondered why God gave us $500. We deposited on our way to the airport. I found out after the trip. The hotel put a hold on my debit card when I checked in. Before the $500 I did not have extra money in the bank. The Lord provided the $500 for the hold and incidental costs we did not know about. I learned from George Mueller you see how much is in your bank say $60 and you need $2000 don't look horizontal, meaning man's perspective or what you see because you will shake and shake you do, but look upward to God, vertical, and rest in the Lord. It takes some spiritual muscle to do that because the flesh wants to look at what you see. Through the years though I have learned to be thankful for EVERYTHING. I realized I deserve absolutely nothing and am so thankful for everything anyone gives or does or what we have. God is so gracious.
If you want to live by faith find verses to cling to and to pray to the Lord. If you are a missionary don't fall to the trap of thinking God cannot provide unless you tell everyone your needs. I have always said do not treasure the most those that give you money because you will compromise for the dollar, but treasure the most the prayer warriors that can give you nothing because they are fighting spiritual battles for you. God owns the universe and He can provide for you through Christians and non Christians, but only Christians can pray on your behalf. Verses I cling to Psalm 94:17-19, Mark 11:24. Luke 22:35, Psalm 55:22, Psalm 123:1-2, Isaiah 26:3-4, Psalm 104:17-18, Philippians 4:4-7, I John 5:14-15, Matt. 6:33. May the Lord Jesus be glorified!
What is the reality of living by faith? I said it is not for the faint of heart. Your bills may be late to be paid. Your kids will not be in extra curricular activities unless you start them. You will not be going on family vacations. You will be broke a lot, though you will have a roof over your head, food on your table and clothes on your back, which means God has provided. The lessons I have learned are a lot. When we moved to Colorado from California I have always said we entered God's school. From University I graduated with a major and a double minor. One of the minors is an automatic Bible minor. Doctrines was a hard class because you had to memorize passages of the Bible. I think God's school is harder because God knows you from head to toe. He knows your weaknesses and where you need to grow. He is a firm and hard teacher but One that is compassionate, loving, merciful, and kind. In 2008 when the economy crashed we lost everything. Our money came from California. Between August and September 2008 our income dropped to half because California's housing bubble bust. I was pregnant with my youngest. I am the accountant of our family. I understood the gravity of the situation. I tried to explain to Adamo but he was not following and I had zero patience to explain so I asked if I could be by myself for a while I needed to talk to God and he said yes. I was in the room for hours wrestling with God because I did not want to go through what I knew we had to go through. I cried and talked with God. I asked if I have to go through a bankruptcy could He please help me and hold my hand through it. He gave me peace. By the time I walk out the Lord strengthened me which was necessary because when Adamo realized the gravity of everything I had to be there for him for many months following the bankruptcy. The Lord provided a house to rent, which we lived in for 13 years, and a mini van, because I had to surrender our other minivan. The Lord took care of us. When I read George Mueller I struggle because I knew God can provide for us I just was not sure if He would want provide for us. I slowly learned the answer was yes. I learned the answers do not look as you expect. Some lessons I learned: 1) God doesn't work on our timetable. We didn't have the money to pay the electric bill and the due date came and went and nothing. I remember that sometimes the money came "late" and I kept trusting. The next day something sold and I could pay the bill. 2) God's answer is not what we are expecting. One of many nights we did not have anything for dinner though God always provided we never went to bed hungry. We had a package of pasta. The Lord allowed a lot of rain and the dandelions were plentiful. For Americans, it is a weed, but it is a healthy herb and Adamo had the boys help him pick up the dandelion leaves and he cleaned them and made a pasta dish with them. 3)Be thankful for even $1. I needed rent which was $1850 at the time. I received a check in the mail for $1.47 for overpayment at a doctors office. I was rejoicing because I knew God was going to provide the rest. Adamo said that is not the rent money and I said I know but if you cannot be thankful for $1.47 you will not be thankful for $1850. I learned from George Mueller as he was thankful for 6 pence. 4) God only has a plan A so get on it and stop planning plan B. Every time we tried to start plan B God never blessed it. It failed. In Psalms 139:5 David mentions "You hem me in, behind and before and lay your hand upon me. " Adamo and I affectionately call that the room with no windows and doors. We were there for years. No matter how hard you tried you cannot get out. The Lord left the top open so we could look UP. We finally got to a place we rested and looked up and found the beauty of the room. We enjoyed when the Lord let us out and we could make money, but we learned the Lord will take care of us. I have so many stories of God's provisions. One I will share is when my Italian citizenship came through. I finished the paperwork in 2015, that had its own amazing stories, Adamo asked me how will we get to Chicago when the citizenship comes through? I said I do not know but if God provided and orchestrated this far He knows. Well, in 2018 we found out. Normally, our hail season is late spring early summer. God had protected our car all these years. The hail would start after we parked in the garage or the hail stopped before we came to the area. August 2018 Adamo said as he took Leonardo to the store, " I hope it rains so I don't have to water." Within 7 to 10 minutes the heavens opened and hail poured down until it looked like snow. Our car was damaged. Our other adopt brother and uncle to the boys mentioned to call the insurance. After we got off the phone with the insurance and she said the check was in the mail, we went to Lowes, which is a hardware store. Gianluca called me and said I think your citizenship came through. I asked how do you know and he said it has your maiden name and it is from Chicago. When I got off the phone I looked at Adamo and said the hail storm was how God was going to pay for the trip for my citizenship. I had everything paid for and as we were leaving, there was an envelope on the door. Inside there was $500. I wondered why God gave us $500. We deposited on our way to the airport. I found out after the trip. The hotel put a hold on my debit card when I checked in. Before the $500 I did not have extra money in the bank. The Lord provided the $500 for the hold and incidental costs we did not know about. I learned from George Mueller you see how much is in your bank say $60 and you need $2000 don't look horizontal, meaning man's perspective or what you see because you will shake and shake you do, but look upward to God, vertical, and rest in the Lord. It takes some spiritual muscle to do that because the flesh wants to look at what you see. Through the years though I have learned to be thankful for EVERYTHING. I realized I deserve absolutely nothing and am so thankful for everything anyone gives or does or what we have. God is so gracious.
If you want to live by faith find verses to cling to and to pray to the Lord. If you are a missionary don't fall to the trap of thinking God cannot provide unless you tell everyone your needs. I have always said do not treasure the most those that give you money because you will compromise for the dollar, but treasure the most the prayer warriors that can give you nothing because they are fighting spiritual battles for you. God owns the universe and He can provide for you through Christians and non Christians, but only Christians can pray on your behalf. Verses I cling to Psalm 94:17-19, Mark 11:24. Luke 22:35, Psalm 55:22, Psalm 123:1-2, Isaiah 26:3-4, Psalm 104:17-18, Philippians 4:4-7, I John 5:14-15, Matt. 6:33. May the Lord Jesus be glorified!