Recently my husband and I went to see the movie “Harriet” and yes it is a “must watch!”, absolutely amazing movie. Many people are familiar with the legacy of Harriet Tubman from American history for her amazing commitment of risking her life by rescuing several slaves from the South. In watching the movie, I discovered that there are much deeper lessons that I believe the body of Christ can learn from Harriet Tubman’s experience.

I will do my best not give away too many details to spoil the movie for those who have not yet seen it .

First Lesson – Passion for souls

Harriet Tubman in the movie demonstrated a character of boldness, courage and passion to save people kept in the bondage of slavery. Harriet was determined to end the beast called slavery. The horrid experience of being a slave was very vivid in Harriet’s mind, every horrific act that was done to her was deeply ingrained in her mind and she could not bear to think of others still enduring such pain. One of such horrific experiences was the splitting of her skull from being severely beaten by her slavemaster which left her in a coma for two months. It seemed that Harriet’s skin crawled whenever she thought about slavery, she had been a slave and knew what it felt like and what it does to a person and couldn’t bear to know that God’s people were suffering this way. For that reason, she risked her life over and over again to rescue as many slaves as she could from the bondage of slavery.

Harriet’s passion to rescue slaves makes me think about the charge of the Christian to rescue those perishing in sin. As believers in Christ, I wonder if we remember how to it was when we were enslaved by the bondage of sin. The torture, pain and horror and wickedness that plagues the sinner from being blind and spiritually dead. The life of a sinner is much sorrowful and painful than one could ever imagine, it is a life separated from God, their source of life and the Lord. Sadly, when a person is living in sin they often do not realize how devastating life is until they get to encounter the saving knowledge of Christ. I thank God daily for the grace of salvation for without Christ my life was a path to eternal destruction

Harriet passion to rescue the the slaves created a deep impression in my heart about the believer’s commitment to the “Great Commission”.  Harriet stated boldly in the movie that she will risk her life to rescue as many slaves even it will cost the last drop of her blood.  I pray the Spirit of God ignites us with such passion to yield our lives as God’s vessels to bring the Gospel of salvation to all who are bound and perishing in sin.

May we never get so comfortable being saved from sin  that  forget what it was like to be bound by sin and enslaved by the devil. Please believers let us wake up, many of our brothers and sisters are still enslaved in living sinful lives.

Second Lesson – Misfortunes are setups to propel us into our life purpose

God does not waste anything in the believer’s life. Harriet’s painful experience became an asset which empowered her to rescue as many people as she could from slavery.  Life is full of obstacles and painful experiences most of which we cannot avoid but God’s grace and power sustains us in all of them.  In Harriet’s experience, God empowered herin her pain to become a vessel to save those who were enslaved like she was. Her pain propelled her to become the person we know Harriet Tubman to be today.  While she could have remained comfortable and lived a peaceful quiet life in the North, she remembered her pain and came back to rescue others from horror of slavery.

Third Lesson – Always Pray

I never knew Harriet Tubman was a praying woman until I watched the movie. In times when she did not know what to do, she would pray and God will miracuolously guide her in what to do. I know in our generation many are losing faith in prayer because of the constant misfortunes in life but I can say that prayer is helping to sustain us in all of them. Prayer works and a beleiver in Jesus Christ always have to hold on to that. The effective, fervent prayer of the righteous avails much, please Beloved in Christ, in all things never cease to pray. God has done great things for people through prayers and greater things await us if we do not grow weary in praying. Let us pray in the good times and bad times. Praying helps us build our relationship with God, the more we pray the we will know God, the more we will be able to listen and obey Him when He speaks to us. It was from the beautiful and intimate relationship that Harriet had with God from persistent prayer that allowed her to be able to discern God’s guidance in the work she did in rescuing people from slavery.

Dear Beloved in Christ, I hope this serves as a blessing to you all. May God continue to strengthen and guide us in our walk with Christ. Always remember that Jesus Christ dearly loves you.