The Steadfast Heart of George Müller

In 1836, George Müller opened an orphanage in Bristol, England, with exactly two shillings in his pocket. Over the next sixty years, he would care for over ten thousand orphans, build five large orphan houses, and distribute more than half a million pounds — yet he never once asked a single person for money.

Müller's secret was breathtakingly simple: he feared the Almighty and delighted in His commands. Each morning, he knelt and laid every need before Jehovah Jireh. When the children sat at empty breakfast tables, he thanked God for the food they had not yet received. Minutes later, a baker would knock at the door with fresh bread, or a milk cart would break down directly outside the orphanage.

What made Müller remarkable was not just his generosity but his unshakeable steadiness. Financial panics swept through England. Critics called him reckless. Friends urged him to establish an endowment. He refused. His heart, as the psalmist describes, was "secure" and "steadfast," trusting in the Lord. He was not afraid of evil tidings because his confidence rested in something no market crash could diminish.

When Müller died in 1898, he owned almost nothing. He had given away nearly everything he ever received. Yet his righteousness endured — his orphanages continued for decades, and his journals have strengthened the faith of millions.

Psalm 112 is not describing a superhuman. It is describing what happens when an ordinary heart is anchored in an extraordinary God.