I pray that this post finds all who read it in good health and not under persecution for believing in Christ. I read about this Christian brother who was such a genius in his youth that he was teaching the adults in Sunday school at the age of twelve. Later, he turned his intellect toward debating the validity of the Christian faith and persuaded many to renounce their faith while he was in college. He later, became one of the most influential missionaries ever to come from the United States. Here is a portion of his story….it will bring tears to your eyes, if it does not there is no hope for you.

Adoniram Judson served in Burma in the early 1800’s along with his family. He was arrested and falsely accused of being an enemy agent. While imprisoned he was forced to stand so that others could lie down and sleep. In tropical Burma, the sun was unbearably hot and since they were not allowed to bathe the stench was incredible. The officials in the prison decided that he was not being punished enough so they hoisted him up by his thumbs….pain filled every fiber of his body.

When he was finally returned to his cell, his precious wife, Anne, would creep in after dark and tell him, “Hang on Adoniram, God will give us the victory.”  Week after torturous week, Anne came by with the same encouraging words, “Hang on Adoniram, God will give us the victory.”  One night, she didn’t come, and another night passed without a sign of her returning. Weeks went by and the loneliness grew to an unbearable level. No one told him than Anne was dying.

Months later when he was released, a man whose body was so broken it was miraculous that he could walk at all, yet he began searching for his beloved wife, Anne. Returning to the place where they had lived, he saw a girl so covered in filth that he failed to recognize his own daughter. He picked her up and staggered into the tent, his eyes squinting in the darkness. It was then that he saw her lying on the cot, a bundle of bones and rags so weak and frail that she  looked like a skeleton. Her hair had fallen out and her bright blue eyes stared blankly at nothing. Hugging his daughter to his chest, he knelt and began calling her name over and over— “Anne, Anne, O my darling Anne.”  As his tears fell on her face, slowly her eyes moved with recognition and she struggled to speak. Her last words were, “Hang on Adoniram, God will give us the victory.”

That day, he lost his sweetheart, but not his faith or his courage. He began preaching again and was soon building churches. When he died, he left scores of churches and hundreds of Christian converts in that Muslim nation. He had fought the good fight and finished the race and kept the faith. Adoniram Judson will receive a crown of righteousness for his work for Christ.