John Wesley Meets the Moravians

In 1736, John and Charles Wesley were on board a ship headed to America when they encountered a terrible storm.  The Wesley’s were commissioned as Anglican missionaries and were headed for the colony of Georgia.  Also on board the ship was a group of Moravians, a protestant community from Germany (modern-day Czech Republic) who were part General Oglethorpe’s philanthropic venture to Georgia. It was this encounter with the Moravians that would forever change John Wesley’s life.

As the storm began to develop, the individuals on board were aware that they were in danger of being ship-wrecked.  With most of the individuals, including the Wesley’s, panicking for their lives, John could not help but to notice the peace that the Moravians displayed.  In the midst of this brutal storm, he was awestruck by the fact that the Moravians were hosting a worship service, praising God with great intensity.

On January 25^th, this is what John wrote in his diary: “In the midst of the Psalm wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, split the main-sail in pieces, covered the ship and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sung on. I asked one of them afterwards; ‘Were you not afraid?’ He answered, ‘I thank God, no.’ I asked: ‘But were not your women and children afraid?’ He replied mildly: ‘No, our women and children are not afraid to die.’” The storm was boisterous, but the Moravians kept praising God. Finally, the storm subsided.”

After reaching Georgia, John sought spiritual counsel from the Moravian Bishop, A.G. Spangenberg.  Though he had been sent as a missionary, he realized he lacked the spiritual comfort and certainty that the Moravians had displayed.  He wrestled with this over the next few years, and it was not until 1738, back in England that he found that certainty.  He wrote in his diary, dated May 24^th: “On Wednesday, May 24 in the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, (A Moravian meeting) where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to Romans. About a quarter to nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart Strangely Warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and felt an assurance was given me, that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

John Wesley would go on to have an enormous impact on the Christian world, having a large theological influence on the Methodist denomination.  He and his brother Charles also had a great impact on George Whitfield, who was an influential vessel that God used in America’s Great Awakening.  John and Charles also composed numerous hymns, many of which are still sung by churches today.

As I contemplate the situation we find ourselves in today, with the coronavirus storm continuing to brew, a question that I believe worth asking is: Is your faith in God more like the Moravians (confident in the sovereign God) or more like young John Wesley’s (panicking like the rest of the world)?

As a community of believers, we have an incredible opportunity right now to display to the world our confidence in the Risen King, and with Easter right around the corner, what greater time to introduce the world to that Risen King?  Much has been made about the fact that we are living in an unprecedented time.  And while this virus may be new, storms and disease and panic has been around since Genesis 3.  As believers, I want to remind you: Our confidence does not rest in the ever-changing world.  Our confidence rests in the never-changing King.

In the coming weeks, spend time communing with that Risen King.  Soak yourself in His Word, reminding yourself of His sovereignty.  And as a community of believers, let’s continue to worship Him, recognizing that the world is watching.  What greater way to prepare for Easter than to display to the world our confidence in our Risen King?

In Christ,
Todd McClure