Adoniram Judson

June 8, 2026
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The Painful Truth About God's Calling. Most men want purpose. Few are prepared for what purpose may cost. Many Christian men wrestle with disappointment when faithfulness doesn't produce immediate results. Judson's story confronts the difficult reality that God's greatest work often requires perseverance through pain, sacrifice, and unseen seasons. "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." (1 Peter 5:10 ESV)

Full Transcript

June 8. Adoniram Judson. Judson was on a mission from God. Before he showed up in Burma, a Burmese Bible didn’t exist, and there wasn’t a single known Christ-follower.

By 1837, Judson had completed the Burmese Bible, and there were 1,144 baptized converts. In 1880, there were 7,000 Burmese Christians, 63 churches, a publishing house, and multiple schools.

By the 100th anniversary of his death, Burma had 200,000 Christians who would live forever in the presence of the King. On this date in 1824, he was locked in a Burmese prison. Listen to this story.

A sacrifice now can yield success for eternity.

In Burma, Adoniram and Ann Judson faced unrelenting heat, lousy food, and a population who worshiped idols. Pigs and dogs fought over the trash in the streets. Worse, the missionaries were often sick, and their two children died.

But after six hard years, Moung Nau became the first convert, two more soon followed, the Burmese church was born, and the first-ever prayer meeting was held in November.

But five years later, war broke out with the British, and the Emperor accused all English-speaking foreigners of espionage. Officers tied up Judson and threw him into a dark, filthy room. The story of his “sufferings from fever, excruciating heat, hunger, repeated disappointments, and the cruelty of the keepers is one of the most challenging narratives in the history of missions. … For almost two years he was incarcerated in a prison too vile to house animals.”

Judson asked God, “Spare me long enough to put Thy saving Word into the hands of a perishing people.” He survived because early in his confinement, Ann, once again pregnant, sneaked him food. With great courage, she also kept his Bible translation work safe by sewing it into a pillow, and she took it to him.

By the time Judson was released, the church had been destroyed. Ann and the baby she had birthed were ill and soon died.

The loss devastated Judson, and it took him a long time to recover. He lived over a year, “in a retreat in the woods, mourning his wife and child. He even dug his own grave and sat beside it.” Later he said, “If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated suffering.”

Judson’s story reflects the words of the Apostle Peter, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10 ESV).

“There is no success without sacrifice,” Judson once said. “If you succeed without sacrifice, it is because someone has suffered before you. If you sacrifice without success, it is because someone will succeed after.”

What do you care enough about to sacrifice for? A sacrifice now can yield success for eternity.

June 8. Adoniram Judson. Judson was on a mission from God. Before he showed up in Burma, a Burmese Bible didn’t exist, and there wasn’t a single known Christ-follower.

By 1837, Judson had completed the Burmese Bible, and there were 1,144 baptized converts. In 1880, there were 7,000 Burmese Christians, 63 churches, a publishing house, and multiple schools.

By the 100th anniversary of his death, Burma had 200,000 Christians who would live forever in the presence of the King. On this date in 1824, he was locked in a Burmese prison. Listen to this story.

A sacrifice now can yield success for eternity.

In Burma, Adoniram and Ann Judson faced unrelenting heat, lousy food, and a population who worshiped idols. Pigs and dogs fought over the trash in the streets. Worse, the missionaries were often sick, and their two children died.

But after six hard years, Moung Nau became the first convert, two more soon followed, the Burmese church was born, and the first-ever prayer meeting was held in November.

But five years later, war broke out with the British, and the Emperor accused all English-speaking foreigners of espionage. Officers tied up Judson and threw him into a dark, filthy room. The story of his “sufferings from fever, excruciating heat, hunger, repeated disappointments, and the cruelty of the keepers is one of the most challenging narratives in the history of missions. … For almost two years he was incarcerated in a prison too vile to house animals.”

Judson asked God, “Spare me long enough to put Thy saving Word into the hands of a perishing people.” He survived because early in his confinement, Ann, once again pregnant, sneaked him food. With great courage, she also kept his Bible translation work safe by sewing it into a pillow, and she took it to him.

By the time Judson was released, the church had been destroyed. Ann and the baby she had birthed were ill and soon died.

The loss devastated Judson, and it took him a long time to recover. He lived over a year, “in a retreat in the woods, mourning his wife and child. He even dug his own grave and sat beside it.” Later he said, “If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated suffering.”

Judson’s story reflects the words of the Apostle Peter, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10 ESV).

“There is no success without sacrifice,” Judson once said. “If you succeed without sacrifice, it is because someone has suffered before you. If you sacrifice without success, it is because someone will succeed after.”

What do you care enough about to sacrifice for? A sacrifice now can yield success for eternity.