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Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5–6
Our first year in Japan we took off on a journey that had little chance of reaching our destination, and high probability of disaster.
Our good friends, Vic & Leah Hanson, had invited us to visit them in Tokyo. This was many-hour train trip from our home in northern Japan. Getting around in Tokyo is confusing, especially for newcomers. Our first stop was the massive Tokyo station.
This was a Sunday and Vic & Leah weren't sure of their church schedule, so they told us that when we arrived at Tokyo station to call their house. (This was before cell phones.) If there was no answer, that would mean they were on their way to meet us. The big problem was I had forgotten to bring their phone number!
I opened the phone book that was by the phone and attempted to find their number. Since it was all in Japanese, I had to give up that option. Now the question was, "What do we do?" They could be on their way to meet us, or they could be at home waiting for us to call. How long do we wait?
I don't remember how long we waited (not long enough!) We had been to their house once before, so I made the (possibly disastrous) decision to try to find our way there. The subway lines are color-coded, and I remembered that the station near their house was on the purple line.
We boarded a train that would take us to the purple line. When we arrived, I began to look at the stations on that line. I remembered that their station ended with the word "daigaku" which means "university." My jaw dropped when I saw that there were 3 stations that ended with "daigaku!"
I had to guess at which one to choose. When we arrived at my choice, I told Janet and 2-year-old Sara, to wait while I ran up to street level to see if anything looked familiar. It looked vaguely familiar, so I retrieved Janet and Sara, and we started walking in the direction I thought led to their house.
After walking for a while I realized that we were lost! I had no idea which way to go. All the narrow streets looked alike. So, I remembered a trick that I had learned from others. I approached a person on the street and asked them, "Where does the foreigner live?
They pointed out a nearby street, and we were soon at their house! The doors were locked, and no one was home! Vic and Leah had gone to Tokyo station looking for us. Not finding us, they decided for Leah to head home just in case we called. Fortunately, she arrived not long after we did! She was completely astonished that we had found our way there.
Veteran missionaries who heard this story could not believe that these rookie missionaries found their way through the Tokyo maze! I'm not sure how much the Lord's hand was involved in helping us. I' sure we uttered many prayers during that 8-hour trip. Maybe he provided the right person to ask about the foreigner's house. Maybe he helped me to remember things better.
I'm sure there are many times the Lord has guided us, protected us and in various ways helped us to "find a way," without us being aware of all he does for us. Similar to how parents protect their little ones who are learning to walk - moving obstacles and preventing contact with dangerous objects - and the child is completely unaware of what is being done for them.
I'm reminded of how God led Abraham.
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Hebrews 11:8
For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. Psalm 48:14
The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:23–24
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21
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