Life’s Pain, Our Good

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. - Genesis 50:20 NIV

Anna Warner was born in 1827 to a wealthy family and grew up in Long Island, New York. When Anna was young, her mother passed away. Then, when Anna was ten, an economic depression and her father’s poor business choices brought her family into financial ruin. The family was forced to sell their home in Long Island and move to their summer property along the Hudson River. Anna and her sister, Susan, began writing and teaching to pay off the family's debts.

Years later, Susan was writing a book, Say to Seal, when she became stuck trying to write a song. The character, a young boy named Johnny Fax, became ill with a fever. Susan asked Anna to write a song that a teacher would sing to comfort the little dying boy.

Anna drew from her own pain and sorrow, as well as the comfort and inspiration she had found in Jesus, and wrote:

Jesus loves me! This I know,

For the Bible tells me so;

Little ones to Him belong;

They are weak, but He is strong.

Say to Seal became an immediate bestseller in 1860. Readers across America were profoundly impacted by Johnny’s story and death. William Batchelder Bradbury read the book and recognized the power of Anna's words. In 1862, he set them to music, and the beloved hymn Jesus Loves Me was born.

Anna’s early life was filled with pain, but God placed Anna where He wanted her to make an impact for His name: across the river from the United States Military Academy in West Point. For decades on Sunday afternoons, Susan prepared an in-depth Bible study, and Anna served lemonade and snacks. They taught the cadets about God and mentored generations of American military leaders. Susan and Anna Warner became the first civilian women granted the honor of burial at West Point Cemetery. Anna was even laid to rest with full military honors. [1, 2]

God used the pain of Anna Warner’s life to shape her, guide her, and draw her into a life of serving others. Out of her own sorrows, she wrote words that have encouraged generations of children and adults around the world with a profound yet simple truth: Jesus loves you and me.

We may not understand why God allows painful circumstances in our lives. We may not see how our suffering could be used for good. But God can take the broken pieces of our stories and use them for purposes we cannot yet see.

Are you experiencing adversity today and can’t see God’s intended plan? In the past, how has God guided you through your pain to bring you where you are today? How has God uniquely placed you to love and serve the people He has in your life?