I would fight for my liberty so long as my strength lasted, and

In the words of Harriet Tubman we hear the fire of the indomitable spirit, the voice of one who would not bow to chains nor surrender to despair: “I would fight for my liberty so long as my strength lasted, and if the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me.” This is not merely a declaration; it is a creed, a covenant between a woman and her Maker. For Tubman knew that liberty is not a luxury, not a gift from masters to slaves, but the divine right of every human soul. She vowed to fight for it until her body failed her, trusting that her fate, whether to live free or to die, rested in the hands of God.

This quote is born from the crucible of slavery in America, where Tubman herself had been shackled, beaten, and hunted. Yet even in bondage, her heart burned with the conviction that she was meant for freedom. When she escaped, she did not rest content with her own deliverance. Instead, she returned again and again into the very jaws of danger, leading others to freedom through the Underground Railroad. Her words are not the rhetoric of an armchair philosopher—they are the lived testimony of a woman who risked capture and death with every journey, sustained only by courage and by faith.

The ancients would have recognized in Tubman the spirit of the warrior and the prophet. She is like Deborah of the Hebrew scriptures, who rose to lead her people with both sword and song. She is like Leonidas at Thermopylae, who fought to the last breath to preserve the liberty of his people against overwhelming odds. But unlike kings and generals, Tubman was a woman armed with neither wealth nor armies—only conviction, cunning, and an unshakable trust in God. And yet, her name endures with theirs, for true heroism is not measured by title or rank, but by the strength of the spirit when tested.

Her words also reveal a profound humility. She did not claim invincibility, nor promise eternal strength. She said, “so long as my strength lasted.” She knew that her body was frail, her life vulnerable. But she placed her trust beyond herself: if her strength failed, then the Lord would decide her hour. This balance of fierce determination and surrender to divine will is the essence of faith. It teaches us that we are called to fight with all that is within us, yet also to accept that our destiny lies in higher hands.

Consider the lesson of her life. Harriet Tubman returned to the South nearly thirteen times, rescuing some seventy enslaved men, women, and children. She never lost a passenger. When asked how she accomplished this, she would say that she followed God’s guidance, listening to visions and dreams that directed her path. She fought for liberty with all her might, yet she also trusted that if her time came, God would see her through it. Her victories were born of this union between human courage and divine providence.

The meaning for us today is clear: fight for your liberty, for your dignity, for the freedom of others, with all the strength you possess. Do not wait for deliverance to fall from the sky; labor for it, strive for it, risk for it. Yet at the same time, do not be consumed by fear of failure or death. Do your part faithfully, and leave the rest to God. This is not passivity—it is the deepest form of courage, for it allows one to act boldly without being enslaved by the terror of fate.

Practically, this means resisting injustice wherever it rises. It means defending the weak, speaking truth when silence is easier, and living with courage even when the cost is high. It means recognizing that liberty, whether personal or collective, is never cheaply won—it demands endurance, sacrifice, and faith. And when your own strength wavers, as Tubman’s did at times, lean on the conviction that your labor is not in vain, for it is aligned with the eternal will of justice.

So remember, children of tomorrow: Harriet Tubman teaches us that liberty is worth every breath, every struggle, every sacrifice. Fight while you have strength, and trust when strength departs. For in the union of human courage and divine providence, the chains of oppression will be broken, and the flame of freedom will never die.