U – Underground with God {26 Surprising Ways to Encounter God, A-Z}

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time.
But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”
– Lilla Watson

U—Underground

Sometimes we have to go underneath things to get grounded.

Think of the Underground Railroad. While not really underground nor a real railroad, it was an undercover system in America in the 1800s to rescue enslaved blacks in the south. Using safe people, safe routes, and safe houses, the Underground Railroad led slaves to freedom.

While we do still have people enslaved all around the world today that need physical rescues, we can also make us of Underground Railroads (of sorts) to help rescue others from spiritual slavery as well.

Perhaps you’ve felt confined in a religious tradition or trapped in an unhealthy lifestyle. Then God sets you up to meet someone in a separate context who talks of a different way. Or God sends you a book to read. You pray to him. You watch for his next signpost. You follow the safe path (possibly risky, too) to escape from shackles to freedom through God’s grace.

If God has already rescued you, you’re primed to help others find the path.

This network of guidance matters.

Sometimes we have to go against a comfortable culture to save a life.

I recently finished reading Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad (I highly recommend it). It’s a fictionalized version of American in the 1800s using a literal underground railroad to free slaves.

It was a good reminder that as long as anyone is enslaved, we all are.

“Looking down over the universe of the park, she saw the town drift where it wanted, washed by sunlight on a stone bench, cooled in the shadows of the hanging tree. But they were prisoners like she was, shackled to fear.”

Try This

Where do you feel confined? Ask God to meet you in this stronghold. Ask him to show you the path to freedom. Watch for the people and the ways he’s giving you personal direction into previously unnoticed openings and passages.

Then think of areas you’ve already been rescued from. Do you know anyone left behind that could use a friendly word? Can you give guidance and encouragement to help someone else find the light that you’re living in?

Learn More

• The Underground Railroad – PBS
  The Underground Railroad was made up of many whites but mostly blacks who knew only of the local efforts to aid fugitives and not of the overall operation.
• Prayer: How to Do the Humanly Impossible
  Make prayer the visible engine of your ministry.
• Can You Hold Steady? A True Story of Harriet Tubman
  Do you know the source of strength of Harriet Tubman, the most famous conductor of the Underground Railroad?

* * *

Who has God used to show you the path to freedom? When has he used you to show others? Please share in the comments.

Coming up tomorrow:

• V – Valuables
  What do you most want to protect?

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