09/07/2026
Have you ever struggled with depression? Wondered if God can still use you in missions if you're depressed? Well picture this: Adoniram Judson was a missionary in the 1800's who was so depressed after his first wife died, that he built a hut in the jungle called "The Hermitage" and stayed there for 40 days, completely alone.
But God used even that dark night of the soul to give Adoniram a new, deep resolve to reach Burma for Christ.
And guess what - he was a young adult!! He was only 25 years old when he was sent to be a missionary to Burma in 1812. One of the first American missionaries in history.
Or have you ever wandered from your faith? If that's you, check out what happened to him:
He had been staying in an inn, and heard someone moaning and dying through the thin walls. It was a horrible sound. Later, Adoniram Judson would realize that it was his close friend, a skeptic, named Jacob Eames. Jacob died.
Adoniram grew up in a Christian home, but then in college fell in with the crowd and was surrounded by skeptics, including Jacob Eames. But when Eames died tragically from illness, Adoniram was very shaken up by it...
Even though he was not a Christian yet, he was too afraid to remain a skeptic, so he got special permission to go to seminary - Andover Seminary in Massachusetts. A few months later, he became a Christian. After that, he knew he had to go tell other people about Christ. He knew we live in a dying world that needed to hear. How could he not go?
So he set sail.
Adoniram Judson was no stranger to grief, illness, and suffering. He married three times because of his wives dying. He lost many children and had been imprisoned multiple times. But God. The Lord still worked mightily through him in all of that.
His translation work is still reaping much fruit in Myanmar today.
