As I reflect on the story of Isabella Baumfree, a young Black woman who spent the hardest days of her life in slavery, subjected to cruel slave owners, I fear I could never fully capture her story in perfect depth or detail. However, in honor of this courageous Christian, I will give it a try. After all, she is one of the elders who encourages my faith—my boldness to speak up, and my courage to stand firm when others might tuck their tails between their legs. A figure of speech, but a necessary one to describe this current generation in the 21st century. This small portion of her story should be shared, for such a time as this.
When I first read Belle’s story, I burned with anger hearing about the cruelty she endured. I wanted so desperately to make her suffering stop, even though I knew she’d been with the Lord since 1883. I could emphasize her suffering in my writing, but I don’t want to make this post about that—and after reading her words, I doubt she would either. She used her time and energy wisely, and so shall I.
Belle was led to share God’s truth, to speak out for women’s rights, and to advocate for the freedom of all Black people in America. After all, she was American. She was dramatic in her speeches, focused and bold, always remaining straightforward. She had something to say, and the Spirit moved her in power to share it.
It was after Belle escaped slavery with her young daughter that she made the decision to raise her voice like a trumpet for the Lord. Although she felt led to speak out, she wondered how she would do it. An American woman of color, now tasked with speaking truth to crowds of people—was that even possible? Of course it was. With God, all things are possible for those who believe.
Shortly after that call, Isabella changed her name to Sojourner Truth. Her life was filled with adventure—from speaking at women’s rights conventions to recruiting Black troops for the Union Army. She went from asking how to being invited to the White House to have an audience with Abraham Lincoln. There are many today who have no respect for the White House or the office of President, but Belle did. Sojourner Truth sat before our 16th president to discuss the Black American vote and women’s rights.
As a woman, I am so thankful to Sojourner Truth for paving the way.
I want to highlight a story about Sojourner that touched me to my core, and I hope it will encourage many others in today’s world. There are countless stories worth researching, but this one blesses me deeply. I’ll try my best to use my own words to convey her heart in this story.
One day, sometime after she escaped slavery, Sojourner heard hymns being sung by a group gathered together in worship. The songs were the same hymns she remembered singing with other brothers and sisters in Christ as they worshiped the Lord in the slave quarters. She peeked through the window to see the group lifting up those praises, and to her surprise, it was a group of white folk.
She was given the boldness to knock on the door and ask a simple question:
“May I come in and worship the Lord with you?”
To which they replied, “You are welcome to join us.”
Think about this: during that time, tensions were high when it came to racial interactions and mingling. Not every white person had the heart of Elijah Lovejoy (more on his story another time)—a new heart given by Jesus. At that time, many white people were at odds with Black people, and vice versa. In other words, gathering together with one voice to worship the Lord was not the norm.
But here’s the notable thing: Sojourner did not think to herself, “I don’t want to worship with white people.” No. Knowing the times she was living in, she decided to knock on the door and ask if she could join them. She wanted to be in their company—entering His courts with praise.
Two people groups joined together as one, in unity for the sake of the Name, no matter the skin color. Sojourner was able to stand up and fight for the rights of her Black kin while not blaming all white people, even choosing to live among them.
Sojourner found her way to the home of Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen, a white couple who took her and her baby in. With their help, Sojourner would go on to be one of the first Black women to fight in court against white men—and win back her son’s freedom, after he had been sold by a cruel man into the hands of another cruel man.
In 2022, rediscovered court documents revealed the details of that victorious case. There on the paperwork was the name: Isabella Van Wagenen.
I imagine her standing before a crowd of reporters, microphones in her face, being asked,
“Sojourner Truth, what do you have to say?”
To which she might have replied something like:
“I am a Black American—one who trusts in the name of the Lord to go before me in every battle, one who fights the good fight. And today, my Lord allowed me to succeed. And ain’t I a woman?!”
I find it so encouraging that Sojourner Truth remained faithful to the Lord—not because He freed her from slavery, but because He freed her from sin. Long before she escaped, she testified to singing worship hymns in the slave quarters with other members of His body. No amount of cruelty from reprobate men could stop her from worshiping the Lord.
Even in the midst of utter devastation, she endured.
I believe it was another giant in the faith, Elisabeth Elliott, who said:
“Our inner peace does not depend on external situations or conditions changing around us; rather, it comes from a deeper relationship with God and a trust in His will.”
It’s one thing to say these words—it’s another to live them. Sojourner Truth lived a life before the Lord in the midst of horrific slavery, and after she escaped, she continued to love God and her neighbor, no matter the skin color. She did not see “slave masters” in all white people. She knew who and what was to blame, and she knew how to love despite what had been done to her.
Victim mentality? Never that—and I love that most about her story.
We are living in times when so many of us have the opportunity to choose what Sojourner Truth chose: to live in unity with all men and women. To see a person and look past the horrors that linger in the bloodlines, remembering that Jesus shed His blood not only to forgive and reconcile us to God, but also to help us forgive and reconcile with our neighbors.
Talking about the past allows us to tell the story, but too often people let the cruelty of that time shape their worldview today—causing them to seep out hatred, even subtly. Can we justify that and still claim to be children of the Lord? I don’t think so.
I understand why the world does this—but why do professing Christians? The amount of racial tension and hate in the world today, coming from so many people (including “pastors”), is troubling. We can all learn a valuable lesson from Sojourner, who refused to let victimhood infect her spirit. She moved on and became a powerful truth-speaker alongside many others—Black and white.
She didn’t look to gather at an “all-Black” congregation; she chose to worship with whoever was singing those beautiful hymns to her Lord and God.
I’d like to share the words of another giant in the faith, Corrie Ten Boom. I imagine Sojourner Truth and Corrie Ten Boom standing together on a platform, side by side. Both women endured extreme cruelty at the hands of sinful people. Both chose to come away from it singing hymns, speaking truth, and fighting the good fight.
“Today I know that such memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. I know that the experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysteries and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.”
And again, Corrie wrote:
“Do you know what hurts so very much? It’s love. Love is the strongest force in the world, and when it is blocked that means pain. There are two things we can do when this happens: we can kill that love so that it stops hurting—but then, of course, part of us dies too. Or we can ask God to open up another route for the love to travel. Love is larger than the walls which shut it in.
Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.
And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness, any more than on our goodness, that the world’s healing hinges—but on His! When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives along with the command, the love itself!”
Be encouraged, brothers and sisters in the faith, to love above all else.
Remember the words of Elder Sojourner Truth:
“But then there came another rush of love through my soul, an’ I cried out loud, ‘Lord, Lord, I can love even de white folks!’”
It’s up to us.
— Dinah