Jason Lieser
November 28, 2005

Our church family is quite familiar with the song "Blessed Be Your Name." It's a frequent selection in our worship singing, and even though I haven't heard it sung in Destiny Place for months, I can hear it as I write this.

"…Blessed be Your name, on the road marked with suffering, though there's pain in the offering, Blessed be Your name…"

Watching the desolation on the grey pavement of I-10, the words couldn't have been more fitting. I wondered if I would have the perseverance to praise God in the midst of such strife -- strife that far overshadows what those of us who evacuated in time were faced with.

Like you, my life has been altered drastically in recent months. I've been displaced and disheartened, looted and longing for peace. We all have.

"In sudden fear I had cried out, 'I have been cut off from the Lord!' But you heard my cry for mercy and answered my call for help." (Psalm 31:22)

But now we have to allow those things to drift into the background and turn our attention toward the present. The past is relatively unimportant at this point. When God called us to ministry in the city of New Orleans, He knew this tumultuous time sat on our horizon.

"The Lord will not reject His people; He will not abandon His special possession." (Psalm 94:14)

We may never fully understand, but our faith causes us to believe that the Lord has a redemptive purpose for this hardship, as Desire Street pastor Mo Leverett says.

"He made the winds blow and determined how much rain should fall. He made the laws of the rain and prepared a path for the lightening." (Job 28:25)

The images of Hurricane Katrina are heartbreaking, but we are no longer in that moment. We are no longer in the state of absolute confusion and disaster. The storm has come and gone, shaking us harshly, but now we stand once again.

"…Their cities are destroyed, with no one left in them. Until their houses are deserted and the whole country is an utter wasteland… Israel will remain a stump, like a tree that is cut down, but the stump will be a holy seed that will grow again." (Isaiah 6:11-13)

We stand, though, at a crucial crossroads of our future as a church. At this juncture, we turn our eyes forward. We cannot be caught looking into our past.

Destiny Place is a church that clings to Christ's grace and puts tremendous faith in His power. It is a body of like-minded believers who treat each other as true brothers and sisters. It is a church that focuses its efforts on people. This church reaches out to those in need and searches desperately to fulfill the challenges God lays before us.

"I know all things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can shut. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me." (Revelation 3:8)

This church is prone to hang on, rather than let go. We are not known to give up in the face of adversity. In a flood of complexity and uncertainty, we rely on His divinity. We are known to pray and walk on faith, which is our current task.

"The God of heaven will help us succeed. We His servants will start rebuilding this wall." (Nehemiah 2:20)

Though I may sound like I am contradicting myself by delving into our past, I am not. My description of our church may fit its past, but it is actually our vision for the future.

"I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking to me about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers." (Isaiah 65:24)

Our future is what we must ceaselessly pray for. Specifically, we must pray for the housing of our congregation. The church is called to strive to meet both the spiritual and physical needs of its congregation. Those who have the ability to give financially and to help physically are called upon to do so.

"All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had." (Acts 4:32)

We must also pray for what may be a very different New Orleans population. Pray that today, before we have even begun to firm up plans for a return, God is working in the hearts of those we will one day reach out to. Pray that God fills them with a sense of need, and prepares them to receive His love. It is exciting to think of ministering to an entirely new group of people.

"...Take this message... 'There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.' You are witnesses of all these things." (Luke 24:47-48)

We also pray that God will lead our footsteps during this decisive time. That may sound vague, but we desperately need His Holy Spirit to guide every decision we make. Our church must be marked by its relentless prayer, just like always. Just because we want something, does not mean it is God's will. We must pray fiercely for God’s direction.

"Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is useless. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good." (Psalm 127:1) "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." (Proverbs 16:9)

I routinely daydream of the first post-Katrina service at Destiny Place. I think of the joy of seeing my family reunited in a time of thanksgiving and praise. My heart races at the thought. I wait eagerly for God to revive us.

"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit... God never abandons us." (2 Corinthians 4:8)

We are past the time of despair. This is a time of faith and hope, a time to rise up in prayer.

Posted by Jlieser at December 6, 2005 03:13 PM