William Carey and the Power of a Second Chance

I have no idea how much wrapping paper we went through this year, but my children decided, for whatever reason, that they would wrap the gifts they purchased for one another and different gift exchanges at school and church. It has been quite entertaining watching their wrapping skills unfold. It became evident, a roll of wrapping paper later for a single shoebox, that they had received their crafting skills from their father! Perhaps you have heard the saying, “Measure twice, cut once.” Or “it is much easier to do it right the first time.” These are trite sayings to encourage someone to save the time and frustrations of doing something over again. In our home, it was less frustration and more entertainment, but that is not always the case.

Sometimes, life does require a “do-over.” A second chance at a project, person, or path in life. Again, these can be frustrating, humiliating, and discouraging, but necessary.

William Carey found himself in such a situation. While preaching in Calcutta, he received word that a fire had started in his printing room, and despite many hours of exhaustive efforts to fight the fire, the building burned to the ground. His life’s work of translating scriptures, dictionaries, and dialects had been burned up in one single night. He lost his completed Sanskrit dictionary, part of his Bengal dictionary, two grammar books, and ten translations of the Bible. Gone also were the type sets for printing in fourteen different languages. The vast quantities of English paper, priceless dictionaries, deeds, and account books were gone.

It would have been one thing if this was solely his, but this was for the Lord and His work. These were dictionaries, typesets, and Scriptures written and translated for the people he loved and ministered to. For the lost of India.

As he arrived on the scene, his heart broke as he witnessed what his mind could only imagine as he traveled back to the printing facility. His coworkers and other translators were sick for what they had lost and for this man who had already lost so much. Many wondered if Carey, who truly attempted great things for God, could endure such a loss as this and continue. How could anyone have the heart to continue? But he did.

When Carey returned to Serampore and surveyed the scene, wept and said, “In one short evening, the labors of years are consumed. How unsearchable are the ways of God? I had lately brought some things to the utmost perfection of which they seemed capable and contemplated the missionary establishment with perhaps too much self-congratulation. The Lord has laid me low, that I may look more simply to him.”

Although he was heartbroken, he did not despise second chances. Carey wrote, “The loss is heavy, but as traveling a road the second time is usually done with greater ease than the first time, so I trust the work will lose nothing of real value. We are not discouraged; indeed, the work has already begun again in every language. We are cast down but not in despair.”

Carey resolved to trust God that a better press and more scholarly translations would come from the embers of that fire.

Little did he know that the fire would bring him and his work to the attention of people all over Europe, America, and India. In just fifty days, from England and Scotland alone, about ten thousand pounds were raised for rebuilding Carey’s publishing enterprise. So much money was coming in that Andrew Fuller, Carey’s friend and a leader of his mission in England, told his committee when he returned from a fund-raising trip, “We must stop the contributions!”

Many volunteers came to India to help as well. By 1832, Carey rebuilt and expanded printing operations and published complete Bibles or portions of the Bible in forty-four languages and dialects!

The Christian life is full of trials, feelings of inadequacy, and failure. Yet we must realize God’s hand is always at work, and there is no such thing as failing when following Him. I am not sure where you find yourself today, but let me encourage you to take this new year and continue to attempt great things for God while expecting great things from Him!

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Treg Spicer is pastor of Faith Baptist Church – Morgantown, WV. Follow his blog here. We republish his articles by permission.

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