She Saw What Slave Catchers Could Not

Between 1850 and 1860, Harriet Tubman returned thirteen times to Maryland's Eastern Shore — the very land from which she had escaped — to lead roughly seventy enslaved people north to freedom. Slave catchers prowled the roads. Reward notices bearing her description circulated through Dorchester County. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 meant capture would bring punishment not only for her but for every soul she guided.

Yet Tubman kept going back.

She traveled by night, navigating by the North Star, wading through icy streams to throw off tracking dogs, sheltering at stations like Thomas Garrett's home in Wilmington, Delaware. She never lost a single passenger. When asked how she managed it, Tubman's answer was unwavering: "Twant me, 'twas the Lord. I always told Him, 'I trust to You. I don't know where to go or what to do, but I expect You to lead me,' and He always did."

Hebrews 11:27 says of Moses that "he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible." Tubman's life puts flesh on that verse. She could not see the safe houses ahead. She could not see whether the next bridge held a patrol or a friend. But she saw something the slave catchers never could — the faithfulness of God stretched out before her like a road.

Faith does not mean seeing the full path. It means seeing the One who walks it with you — and taking the next step anyway.