Harriet Tubman and the Paths She Could Not See

In the winter of 1851, Harriet Tubman stood at the edge of a frozen Maryland marsh, leading eleven fugitives north toward freedom. She had no map. The stars were hidden behind thick clouds. The safe house she expected to find had been abandoned. Every instinct told her to turn back.

Instead, she prayed. Those who traveled with her recalled that Tubman would go completely still, sometimes for several minutes, listening for what she called "the voice of the Lord." That night, she turned the group east — away from the route she had planned — through an icy creek bed no one would have chosen willingly. By morning, they discovered that slave catchers had been waiting on the original path.

Tubman made nineteen trips along the Underground Railroad and never lost a single passenger. She attributed this not to her own cleverness but to the faithful guidance of the Almighty. "I always told God," she later said, "I trust You. I don't know where to go or what to do, but I expect You to lead me."

This is the prayer of Psalm 25. "Show me Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth." David was not asking for a map printed in advance. He was asking for the kind of trust Tubman knew — the willingness to lift your soul to God when the stars are hidden, and to take the next step believing that all His paths are steadfast love and faithfulness.