Where God Leads

If we have experienced freedom in Christ, we can rejoice and abide in that freedom that He gives.
That freedom gives us insight into who we really are. 2nd Corinthians 3 says:
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The Spirit resides in the heart of every believer in Christ, and His inner work will set us free from the power of sin to operate in our lives.  Yes, we will still sin, and we can receive God's forgiveness, but we discover the ability to conquer those areas of sin as we appropriate the resources that are given by the Spirit.  We can see more clearly what God wants to do in our lives and can get a sense of the new identity, the new image, we have in Him.

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We are called to be ambassadors for Christ, and we can proclaim the message of His deliverance through word and action. Psalm 40 says:
9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness In the great assembly; Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O Lord, You Yourself know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth From the great assembly.

Another translation of verse 9 uses the word, "deliverance," as in "good news of deliverance."

She was referred to as the underground railroad's most celebrated "conductor."  Her nickname was "Moses." A piece from Christian History magazine on the Christianity Today website says that Harriet Tubman was raised in slavery in eastern Maryland but escaped in 1849. It goes on to say:

Tubman was not satisfied with her own freedom, however. She made 19 return trips to the South and helped deliver at least 300 fellow slaves, boasting "I never lost a passenger." Her guidance of so many to freedom earned her the nickname "Moses."

Tubman's friends and fellow abolitionists claimed that the source of her strength came from her faith in God as deliverer and protector of the weak...

The article stated that Tubman "said she would listen carefully to the voice of God as she led slaves north, and she would only go where she felt God was leading her. Fellow abolitionist Thomas Garrett said of her, 'I never met any person of any color who had more confidence in the voice of God.'"

Religion News Service reports that the Washington bureau chief of The Atlantic, Yoni Appelbaum, tweeted a story recorded by the abolitionist’s first biographer, Sarah Hopkins Bradford. As the story goes, according to the article:

Sometime after Tubman escaped to freedom, she learned her parents, still enslaved in Maryland, were in trouble, according to Appelbaum. She staged a sit-down hunger strike at the New York office of abolitionist Oliver Johnson in order to secure the $20 she needed to rescue them. The Lord had told her to, she reportedly said.

“Well, I guess the Lord’s mistaken this time,” Johnson said.

The story says that Tubman contended that the Lord was not and she declared she would sit there until she got it.  Supporters slipped $60 into her pockets while she slept, and she was able to lead her father to freedom.

Applebaum, noting that she wanted 20 dollars, noted that now she will be on all of our $20 bills.

The RNS story also reports that at the end of her life, Tubman was active in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in Auburn, New York. According to her obituary in the Auburn Citizen, the last words she uttered were also ones of faith: “I go to prepare a place for you.”

So, this is the woman - RNS says that:

The move will make Tubman the first African-American, the first woman in more than 100 years and the first unabashed Christian to be portrayed on a bill.

Now, one might contend that men like Washington and Lincoln were Christians, as well, but the point is well taken.  The evidence here points to someone who was outspoken about her faith and dedicated to the voice of God.

I think there are several aspects of the story of Harriet Tubman that can be applicable for our lives today.  One question we can ask ourselves is: How will you be remembered?  Yes, we are living for the present, but we are also crafting a legacy.  Our lives can be a statement for others to follow and regard.  We can also consider the degree to which faith is or will be a component of the sum total of our lives.

Harriet Tubman displayed a confidence in hearing the voice of God.  A blow to the head while a teenager, according to RNS, resulted in her ability to experience what were termed "visions," and more, which she believed to be from the Lord and helped in leading people to freedom.   We may not receive the type of vivid experience that Tubman apparently had, but we can know that God speaks - He speaks through His Word and He gives direction by His Spirit.  A good challenge for us is to make sure we are listening and discerning His instruction for us.

Finally, Harriet Tubman escaped to freedom from slavery.  But, she didn't go to her new home and enjoy her freedom privately - she demonstrated her love for other people by risking her life to help deliver hundreds of others.  We can be inspired to lay down our own desires for the betterment of others.