Annie Johnson Flint

Annie Johnson Flint (1866–1932) was an American hymn writer and poet whose life stands as a powerful testimony of faith, perseverance, and trust in God amid suffering. She was born on December 24, 1866, in Vineland. Her early life was marked by deep sorrow, as her mother died when Annie was just a child. Soon after, due to her father’s failing health, she and her sister were adopted by the Flint family, who raised them in the Christian faith.

At the age of eight, during a revival meeting, Annie experienced a genuine conversion and came to a personal faith in Christ. She firmly believed that children could understand and embrace spiritual truth, and she never doubted the sincerity of her early commitment. Her faith would later become the foundation that sustained her through intense trials.

As a young woman, Flint trained to become a teacher and began her career with promise. However, she was soon afflicted with severe rheumatoid arthritis, which progressively worsened until she became nearly helpless. This illness forced her to give up teaching and confined her to a life of physical suffering. Around the same time, she also lost both of her adoptive parents, leaving her and her sister in financial and emotional hardship.

Despite these trials, Flint’s faith did not falter. Instead, her suffering deepened her spiritual insight and gave rise to a remarkable ministry through poetry and hymn writing. Using her painful circumstances as a platform for testimony, she wrote verses that brought comfort and encouragement to countless believers. Even when her hands became twisted with disease, she continued to write, often with great difficulty.

Her poems were eventually published and widely distributed, reaching a broad audience through Christian periodicals and devotional booklets. Among her most beloved works are “He Giveth More Grace,” “God Hath Not Promised Skies Always Blue,” and “Christ Has No Hands but Our Hands.” These writings emphasize God’s sufficiency, grace in suffering, and the believer’s role in serving others.

A central theme in her life and writing reflects the truth of 2 Corinthians 12:9, where God declares, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Flint embraced this promise fully, learning to trust God’s purposes even in pain.

She spent her final years in Clifton Springs, where she died on September 8, 1932. Though her life was marked by suffering, her legacy is one of enduring faith and spiritual encouragement. Through her hymns and poems, Annie Johnson Flint continues to inspire believers to trust in God’s grace, especially in life’s most difficult seasons.