“Fire in Her Bones”
“The Lord touched my tongue as with a live coal from His altar … my mind was cleared and the Scriptures opened themselves to me. The fire kindled.” — Jarena Lee
Her moment came unexpectedly one Sunday at Mother Bethel Church in Philadelphia. The appointed preacher had begun his sermon when, overcome by weakness, he suddenly lost his voice. As the congregation sat in uneasy silence, Jarena felt a fire stir within her—the same divine impulse she had tried for years to suppress. Rising to her feet, she spoke with clarity and passion from Jonah 2:9: “Salvation is of the Lord.” The words poured out like living water, reaching hearts and drawing tears from those who listened. When Bishop Allen heard of what had happened, he could no longer deny the evidence of the Spirit. “Surely,” he concluded, “the Lord has called her to preach.” In that moment, the boundaries of church and culture yielded to the authority of God’s voice, and Jarena Lee’s ministry was born—not by decree, but by the undeniable witness of divine anointing.
A Voice That Could Not Be Silenced
Jarena Lee became the first woman authorized to preach in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She had waited eight long years since hearing the command of God: “Go, preach the Gospel!”
Now released to follow the Spirit’s fire, she traveled thousands of miles on foot and horseback. She preached wherever hearts were open — in fields, churches, schoolhouses, and camp meetings. Her voice rang out across Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and even into the slaveholding South.
“I spoke to large congregations of both coloured and white … Though in a slave country, God displayed His power by a general outpouring of the Spirit — sinners cried for mercy.
Lee’s sermons carried conviction and compassion. She preached holiness of heart, repentance, and freedom in Christ. Though she faced mockery and exclusion, she refused to retreat. As she said, “The Spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I could not hold my peace.”
Faith Against the Grain
Jarena Lee had no formal education — “not more than three months’ schooling” — yet her theological insight was profound. She taught that the same Spirit who inspired Scripture also empowered ordinary believers, women included, to proclaim it:
“I have never found that Spirit lead me contrary to the Scriptures of truth.”
She believed deeply that the cross levels every barrier. Her now-famous declaration still echoes through pulpits today:
“If the man may preach because the Saviour died for him, why not the woman, seeing He died for her also?”
These words did not come from defiance but from devotion. Her preaching was not about self-assertion but about obedience — a holy response to a God who makes no distinction in His call.
A Life Poured Out
Jarena Lee’s ministry was costly. She endured exhaustion, hunger, and racial hostility. At times she preached until her strength failed. “My money was gone, my health was gone, and I was without a home,” she wrote, “but I rested on the promises of God.”
Despite hardship, she pressed on, testifying that God’s Word burned in her bones like the prophet Jeremiah’s. Her courage lit a path for women in ministry across centuries — women who would one day preach freely because she once dared to rise when all others sat silent.
“Praise God for His delivering grace! Oh, the depth of the riches of the glory of God — how unsearchable are His ways!”
By the time she published her Religious Experience and Journal in 1849, she had become one of the most influential spiritual voices of her generation — not for the fame she sought, but for the fire she refused to quench.
Reflection
- What inner fire has God kindled in you that the world has tried to silence?
- How can your obedience, like Jarena Lee’s, open doors for others to hear the Gospel?
- Do you believe that the Spirit still anoints unexpected voices to proclaim His truth?
Prayer
Lord of every calling,
thank You for the faith of Jarena Lee —
a woman who heard Your voice and would not turn away.
Ignite in us the same fire that burned in her heart.
Make us faithful witnesses of Your truth across every boundary.
May our lives, like hers, be living sermons of Your grace.
Amen.
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