He Crowns The Humble

The LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.

Psalm 149:4

Though Hannah Hurnard grew up in a strict Puritan home, she found church services depressing and felt she was the most miserable, unworthy of creatures. Because of a profound stuttering problem, she was tormented by fears. She was friendless and ridiculed every day at school. Worst of all, she began to perceive God as unreachable and unloving.

With every passing year Hannah sank deeper into despair—until one day in her cabin at a conference, she fell on her knees and asked God to make himself real to her. As Christ’s love penetrated her heart, she realized she must yield her entire being and her stuttering to the Lord. She grew spiritually and eventually served as a preacher of the gospel. Her listeners thought God had given her a speaking gift.

After years of service in Palestine, Hannah and other missionaries were sent back to England because the war for Israel’s independence was looming. Yet as the weeks grew into months, she longed to get back to her ministry to Arabs and Jews. Finally she was offered a position as a housekeeper in a Palestine hospital. At first she thought, No, Lord! I’m called as an evangelist, not a housekeeper! But she humbled herself and told the Lord she’d do whatever he asked of her, even housekeeping or janitorial work. Though she confessed her utter lack of experience to the administrator, the door opened.

Three weeks later Hannah flew back to the Holy Land and became housekeeping director for the hospital. Through this unlikely position, she had countless opportunities to minister to Jews and Arabs, even during wartime, while all the other Christians were cast out of the country. In the years ahead, she had a vibrant literary career and a great impact in the Middle East and England.

God, thank you that you delight in your people, and when we humble ourselves, you crown us with salvation.

We can be humble only when we know that we are God’s children, of infinite value and eternally loved.

Madeleine L’engle,(1918–2007), American author