Lift Up Your Eyes: Harriet Tubman and Psalm 121

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery in Maryland, and she did not stay there. According to Wikipedia, after escaping she went back some 13 times to guide roughly 70 people, including family and friends, to freedom along the network of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. In the Civil War she served the Union Army as an armed scout and spy. Accounts of her life describe a woman of deep and daily faith, who trusted God to lead her through dark country she could not see.

That trust is the heart of Psalm 121.

Key verse (KJV), Psalm 121:1-2: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth."

Lesson: Courage is not the absence of fear. It is moving forward because we believe the One who made heaven and earth is also the One watching the road. Our help does not come from our own strength, our plans or even the people around us.

Prayer point: Lord, when the road ahead is dark, teach us to lift our eyes to You and take the next faithful step.

Over to you:
- When did you take a step of faith without seeing the whole road, and how did God meet you?
- How does your parish help members who feel stuck or afraid to move forward?

Sources: Wikipedia (Harriet Tubman); KJV Bible.
Photo: Carte-de-visite portrait of Harriet Tubman, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons