Josiah Henson

September 20. Josiah Henson.  Born into slavery, Josiah refused to remain enslaved. When he was 18, he became a Christian and soon began to preach after slaving all day. He also married and had twelve children. 

In 1830, Josiah escaped to Canada and founded a settlement and a laborer's school for other fugitive slaves.In 1842, he founded the British American Institute, an Afro-Canadian community and industrial school—a refuge for escaped slaves.  

Real strength comes from facing real weakness. 

Before he escaped to Canada and gained freedom for himself and his family, Josiah had spent about four decades as a slave.  

While in Canada, Josiah’s oldest son, Tom, had the opportunity to go to school. He learned to read, and Josiah would often ask his son to read the Bible to him to help him memorize the stories and verses to preach on. But one early Sunday morning before church, Tom had been reading from the Psalms and asked, “Father, who is David?” 

Tom was eager to learn more about the Old Testament king who’d written the psalm he had just read. But even though Josiah was a preacher, he had no idea who David was. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to know. 

Josiah had never learned to read. And because he’d never learned to read, he’d never read the story of David. 

Josiah was afraid to admit to his son that he didn’t know because he didn’t want Tom to think less of him. He tried to give the boy a simple answer, one that hopefully had no follow-up questions. “He was a man of God, my son.” 

But the answer wasn’t what Tom was looking for. He already knew David was a man of God. But Tom wanted to know where David lived and what he did. How had David become a man of God? 

The questions came at Josiah like a whirlwind, so any chance to avoid the real answer became impossible. Finally, after minutes of listening to Tom’s pleading, he admitted that he didn’t know anything about David. 

But Tom saw deeper into Josiah’s admission. “Why, Father … can’t you read?” 

Josiah felt his spirit sink. To Tom, Josiah was the very definition of what it meant to be a man. He was the leader, the protector, the provider of his family. To admit to his son that there was something he couldn’t do … it was embarrassing. 

But Josiah couldn’t lie. He admitted the truth—he couldn’t read. 

“Why not?” Tom asked curiously. 

“Because I never had an opportunity to learn, nor anybody to teach me.” Back in America slaves were not allowed to have an education. They weren’t permitted to learn anything about letters and words. 

“Well,” Tom said. “You can learn now, Father.” 

Josiah wanted to laugh. He was nearly fifty years old. “I am too old, and have not time enough,” he said. “Still there is nobody to teach me.” 

But Tom wouldn’t accept any excuses. “Why, Father, I’ll teach you! I can do it, I know. And then you’ll know so much more that you will be able to talk better and preach better!” 

Josiah was shocked at his son’s persistence. He always knew he wanted his children to be more successful in life, and it was no surprise that someone like Tom would grow up to know more than him because of better opportunities. But to learn from his own son … learn a skill that most people mastered in childhood … he never expected such a turn of events. Fathers were supposed to instruct their children, not the other way around. 

But Josiah knew that Tom was right. Tom could help him. Their lessons began, and at first it wasn’t easy for Josiah to learn or for Tom to teach. But as the weeks and months passed, Josiah eventually learned to read, and the knowledge he acquired burned in him an even deeper passion to help others—especially those who had been denied an education because of slavery.  

“Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them” (Proverbs 4:5 NIV). 

When you find you need help, are you willing to ask for it? Real strength comes from facing real weakness.