Chosen Before the Doors Opened: The Story of George Müller's Orphans

In 1836, George Müller opened the doors of his first orphan house on Wilson Street in Bristol, England. But what most people forget is that months before a single child arrived, Müller had already prepared beds, purchased blankets, and stocked the pantry. He had prayed over each empty cot by name — not knowing which children would fill them, but certain they were coming.

When nine-year-old Mary Müller (no relation) arrived shivering at the doorstep that winter, everything was ready. The bed was made. The porridge was warm. The place had been set for her before she even knew it existed. She later wrote that walking into that home felt like discovering she had been expected all along.

This is the breathtaking claim of Ephesians 1. Before the foundation of the world — before you drew your first breath, before your parents met, before the stars were flung into their courses — the Almighty had already chosen you. Not as an afterthought. Not as a contingency plan. Paul says God "predestined us for adoption" according to the good pleasure of His will.

You were not an accident who stumbled into grace. You were expected. The Father prepared a place for you in His family before time began, and every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places already has your name on it. You have been chosen to the praise of His glorious grace.