Hosea 2:23 “I will show my love to the one I called `Not my loved one. ‘
I will say to those called ‘Not my people, ‘ ‘You are my people’;
and they will say, ‘You are my God.’ ”

As well as I know this was spoken to Israel, I still feel it applies to Japan as well. 450 years ago, Japan was briefly a hotbed of faith, with many turning to Christ. Then came what was arguably the most effective persecution in the history of the Church, and the Church in Japan essentially disappeared. Christianity was allowed again from the early 20th Century, but leading up to and during WWII there was again persecution. There was a brief period of harvest in the years immediately following the war, but since then, Japan has been justly called “the graveyard of missionaries,” with the lowest rate of return for time and resources invested of any country. However, Japan’s time of harvest will come again! The triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown almost exactly two years ago shook the people indeed, and in the directly hit region, hearts are open as they haven’t been for centuries. At the same time, God is raising up a new generation of young Japanese Church leaders who won’t be bound by past failures or methodologies. That’s why I feel this verse applies to Japan!

When I came on this trip to northern Japan I didn’t know what I would be doing or what God had in mind, but just two days into it I’m beginning to see, I think. I don’t feel I’m to uproot from Omura, certainly not at this point, but I do feel I’m to be a resource person for the harvest workers here. Exactly what shape that will take remains to be seen, but I am available for whatever God directs. Yesterday I got my first good view of the physical scars on the land, and I also got a view of the emotional scars. At the same time, I was blessed to interact with young Christian workers who are fully dedicated to Christ and His kingdom. That was an enormous encouragement! I believe God wants to multiply what He has placed in me, even as He has done to a degree in Omura, and I look forward to what He is going to do in the future.

Father, thank You for Your plans, and for the privilege of being included in them. In the short term, I don’t know what You have for me for the rest of this week, and I really don’t know what You have over the long term, but I know it will be good. Help me not be so caught up in the future, either in anxiety or in anticipation, that I fail to be fully available for what You have for me right where I am, in the present moment. May I be a useful tool in Your hands, so that Your will may be done in and through me, building up the Body of Christ for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!