Cholera Outbreak

In the 1830’s a cholera epidemic was rampant in England. The church bells tolled almost non-stop for months as people held funerals for their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. One man was prepared for the disaster that descended on his country. That man was George Muller. He spent all his waking hours encouraging those who had contracted the disease or comforting their survivors. He read the Bible to them and spent time in prayer with them. Thousands of people died from the disease. Seeing children in the streets whose parents had fallen victim to the horrible outbreak of cholera led George into a ministry with eternal consequence. He and his wife Mary had started a ‘breakfast club’, inviting hungry children into their house each morning for a warm breakfast and a Bible lesson.

A long time ago in a distant land… it sounds nearly impossible for us to even imagine something like a widespread epidemic with such far-reaching consequences. But I think we can learn much from a man like Mr. Muller. Christians need to be prepared. We need to be ready to do what George Muller did. We may not face cholera, but it is not out of the realm of possibility that we’d face a different epidemic. It might be a health epidemic. It could very well be the results of the looming economic meltdown of our financial structure. When the dust has settled from all the bailouts, the move to spreading the wealth around, the Obama presidency, the corruption in Washington and New York, we could very well be looking at hungry children in our streets in massive numbers. Unemployment and crime could spike to all-time heights. Despair and hopelessness could be the predominant landscape of our near future.

Are we going to crumble like those who have no foundation? Or will be ready, like George Muller, with the message of hope from the Word of God? The time is now for us to gird our loins and arm ourselves with the scriptures. The time is now to be ready to give someone a cold drink of water, literally, in the name of Jesus. Get ready for the coming outbreak of cholera in your town.