9 Quotes & Sayings By Hannah Whitall Smith

Hannah Whitall Smith was born in 1827 in Scotland. She was educated at home until her marriage in 1840, when she went to live with her husband, William Taylor, an engraver working in London. Mrs. Taylor died in 1850, and Hannah Taylor Smith married again in 1852 to Rev Read more

Richard Smith, a chaplain in the Navy. He died in 1855, and she returned to England where, with the help of her friend Susan Orpen Noyes, she opened a school for girls in Kensington. In 1870 she published The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life, which became a best seller in Britain and America.

It was translated into many languages and has sold over twenty-five million copies worldwide. Mrs. Smith died in 1897 at the age of seventy-seven after being hit by a train.

1
Most Christians are like a man who was toiling along the road, bending under a heavy burden, when a wagon overtook him. The driver kindly offered to help him on his journey. He joyfully accepted the offer but, when he was seated, continued to bend beneath his burden, which he still kept on his shoulders. "Why do you not lay down your burden?" asked the kind-hearted driver. "Oh! " replied the man, "I feel that it is almost too much to ask you to carry me, and I could not think of letting you carry my burden too." And so Christian who have given themselves into the care and keeping of the Lord Jesus still continue to bend beneath the weight of their burdens and often go weary and heavy-laden throughout the whole length of their journey. Hannah Whitall Smith
2
He who cares for the sparrows and numbers the hairs of our head, cannot possibly fail us. Hannah Whitall Smith
3
Christ came into the world to save sinners, not good people, and your unworthiness is your greatest claim for His salvation. Hannah Whitall Smith
4
Anything allowed in the heart which is contrary to the will of God, let it seem ever so insignificant, or be ever so deeply hidden, will cause us to fall before our enemies. Any root of bitterness cherished towards another, any self-seeking, any harsh judgments indulged in, any slackness in obeying the voice of the Lord, any doubtful habits or surroundings, any one of these things will effectually cripple and paralyze our spiritual life. I believe our blessed Guide, the indwelling Holy Spirit, is always secretly discovering these things to us by continual little twinges and pangs of conscience, so that we are left without excuse. Hannah Whitall Smith
5
Holding onto what was isn't healthy for what is. Hannah Whitall Smith
6
If our hearts are full of our own wretched 'I ams' we will have no ears to hear His glorious, soul-satisfying 'I am'. We say, 'Alas, I am such a poor week creature, ' or 'I am so foolish, ' or 'I am so good-for-nothing, ' or 'I am so helpless' and we give these pitiful 'I ams' of ours as the reason of the wretchedness and discomfort of our religious lives, and even feel that we are very much to be pitied that things are so hard for us. While all the time we entirely ignore the blank check of God's magnificent 'I am, ' which authorizes us to draw upon Him for an abundant supply for every need. Hannah Whitall Smith
7
The true secret of giving advice is after you have honestly given it to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not and never persist in trying to set people right. Hannah Whitall Smith
8
Faith is nothing at all tangible.... It is simply believing God and like sight it is nothing apart from its object. You might as well shut your eyes and look inside and see whether you have sight as to look inside to discover whether you have faith. Hannah Whitall Smith