William Carey was a missionary of missionaries, but more importantly, a man who felt the striking contrast between his self-effacing sin and the burning glory of Jesus Christ.

This great missionary was great not because of his unparalleled achievements, but because of his burning sense of his own unworthiness. Not long after he arrived in India at age 31, witnessing the demonic grip of superstition in the Indians around him he wrote in discouragement,

"I can scarcely tell whether I have the grace of God or no. How shall I help India, with so little godliness myself?¹ But he refused to yield even to the seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Carey’s humble heart reached up and trusted the strength of God with him:

When I left England, my hope of India’s conversion was very strong; but, amongst so many obstacles, it would die, unless upheld by God. Well, I have God, and His Word is true. Though the superstitions of the heathen were a thousand times stronger than they are, and the example of the Europeans a thousand times worse; though I were deserted by all and persecuted by all, yet my faith, fixed on that sure Word, would rise above all obstructions and overcome every trial. God’s cause will triumph.²

Nothing is so unstoppable as God’s hand upon a sinner who feels his unworthiness as strong as he feels the strength of God within him.
Endnotes

1. Quoted by S. Pearce Carey, William Carey, edited by Peter Masters (London: Wakeman Trust, 1993), 147.

2. Ibid.