New to Moscow in 1993, we had been warned to keep a low profile. It was shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Street crime was high, and foreigners were the prime targets. That day, three of us, all young women, were on the subway together. Two of us were being very “low profile”, keeping our voices low and our actions limited. The third in our party, however, was more of a free spirit. She was the youngest, in her early twenties, talkative, and very “American” in her dress and manners. That would have not been an issue in LA or New York, but at that time in Moscow, that was not a good image. And we had been spotted.
There was a group of three men dressed in dark clothing who had taken notice. I could see out of the corner of my eye that they were exchanging glances with one another, and were definitely watching us. My heart rate began to increase.
As we approached our stop, we moved toward the doors and, sure enough, they followed. We exited the car and turned left with the crowd, with them not far behind. At the top of the stairs, we had to make a decision: continue up and exit to the street, or turn right and continue in the tunnel. We had planned to exit, but I knew that would take us away from the relative safety of the crowd. Instinctively, I fell to my knees and pretended to tie my shoe. The men were forced to pass by.
They continued down the tunnel a few feet, stopping at a table to supposedly look at the books for sale there. My heart pounded and I sent fervent prayers heavenward. I quickly stood and our little party headed up the stairs, not knowing what would happen next.
As we broke into the sunlight, standing at the top of the flight of stairs stood our missionary teammates, a family of five. I had never been so glad to see friends in all my life! We had made no plans to meet them! But God did! As we greeted and hugged, the men from the subway emerged and passed us by. There were too many of us now. They would have to save their evil plans for another day.
What about You?
I know without a doubt that God protected us that day. And I am so very thankful!!! I know He watches over me constantly, but I also know that that does not mean that He has promised me a carefree, trouble free life. In fact, Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble. (See John 16:33) What He does promise is that He will always be with us through any troubles that He does allow to come our way. (See Isaiah 43:2) Now, I must confess, that in the midst of life’s troubles, there are many times when I become fearful and forget to look to God and trust Him. Like Peter on the stormy sea (See Matthew 14:25-31), I get caught up in the situation and forget to keep my eyes on Jesus. Yet we know with certainty, that God never forgets His children. He is ever faithful. Our challenge, then, is to remember to trust Him and keep our eyes on Him! Can you trust Him today, regardless of your circumstances? He loves us and knows what’s best for us.