George Mueller 3

The promise of today's text (1 John 3:13-24) carries two important conditions&md;"if our heart condemn us not" (v. 21), and if "we keep His commandments" (v. 22). In other words, when we are in the center of God's will and have a clear conscience, the resources of heaven are at our disposal. The following incident vividly illustrates this truth:

The captain of an ocean steamer tells that on one occasion his ship was engulfed in a dense fog off the coast of Newfoundland. It was Wednesday evening and the captain had been on the bridge for 24 hours when he was startled by someone tapping on his shoulder. He turned and saw one of his passengers&md;George Mueller.

"Captain," said Mueller, "I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon."

"That's impossible!" replied the captain. "I'm helpless!"

Mueller suggested, "Let's go down to the chart room and pray."

The captain thought he had a lunatic on board. "Do you know how dense the fog is?" he asked.

"No," came the reply, "my eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life." Once in the chart room, Mueller got down on his knees and prayed, "O Lord, if it is consistent with Thy will, please remove this fog in 5 minutes. Thou knowest the engagement Thou didst make for me in Quebec for Saturday. I believe it is Thy will." Within a matter of minutes the fog lifted.