How God finally answered my prayer from yesterday

I just left church today still feeling down.

In fact, I was so down that during my train ride back I couldn't hold back my tears any longer and ended up having to wipe my eyes every so often. I had to lull myself into taking a nap just to stop myself from crying in helplessness.

God I resolved not to depend on any other people for this, not my parents, not my churchmates, not my friends. God Im calling on to You. Im entirely dependent on You on this. Please dont let me down.

I had to change trains at the central station and had a choice between the Express and the Local train. The Express one already has all its seats filled and as I was walking along trying to find an empty seat, I thought about just heading to the Local one where there are plenty of empty seats.

Okay, just one more and if I dont find any empty seat Im entering the Local train. Then surprisingly I found an empty seat! Cool. I entered the Express train but then I saw another empty seat inside. I dont know why but I headed to that other one instead of the first one I saw.

On my right was an old man reading some papers in Japanese but I can only make out some words in Katakana. I thought it was a script because I remembered seeing the name "Naomi" in katakana. After a few minutes, he packed his papers and then brought out a small book. The book was inside a black leather zippered cover and I remember thinking, wow that kinda looks like a bible. Interesting.
 

Then I looked closely at the heading and I saw the word "Jeremiah" in Katakana. 

It was a bible alright.
 

Well, what are the chances of me sitting beside an old Japanese person who reads the bible on a train ? 

His bible was turned to Jeremiah chapters 42 and 43 so I gamely opened my bible app and started reading in english.

Anyway, after reading I turned to him and asked (in my broken Japanese), "That's a bible right?"

"Yes."
 

Then I showed him my phone where I was reading in the english version. I told him I'm an international student. Then I asked if, by any chance, he is a pastor. 

He said yes.
 

Well, what are the chances of me sitting beside an old Japanese person on a train who turns out to be a Christian pastor? 

We chatted for a bit and I discovered that he goes to a church in Sakai-shi but he lives in Takarazuka. However, he said, he'll only be there until March because starting from April he will be at Ishibashi church. That sounds awfully familiar.
 

I asked him if, by any chance, he knows someone by the name of Cory Giesbrecht, one friend who is a missionary . 

He said he does.
 

Well, what are the chances of me sitting beside an old Japanese person on a train who turns out to be a Christian pastor who turns out to know a friend of mine?

--

By the way, those verses from Jeremiah that I read on the train? These ones:

Jeremiah 42

3 that the Lord your God may show us the way in which we should walk and the thing we should do.”

5 So they said to Jeremiah, “Let the Lord be a true and faithful witness between us, if we do not do according to everything which the Lord your God sends us by you. 6 Whether it is pleasing or displeasing, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we send you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.” (God's previous instructions to me to cast all my cares to Him and rejoice and be thankful.)

9 and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: 10 ‘If you will still remain in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up. For I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought upon you. 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not be afraid of him,’ says the Lord, ‘for I am with you, to save you and deliver you from his hand.

What's even more surprising was that those exact verses were already highlighted, probably when I was reading there for my devotion last year.

Click here to read how God delivered on this promise after four days.