Step by Step

Because we know the Lord, we can have assurance of His handiwork in our hearts and His hand upon our lives, directing us in the way He would intend. We can read in Psalm 110:
7 The works of His hands are verity and justice; All His precepts are sure.
8 They stand fast forever and ever, And are done in truth and uprightness.
9 He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.

This passage teaches us that we can rely upon His precepts, and if we are patterning our lives in according to the principles we find in the Scriptures, we can have access to His guidance.   As we grow in a sense of reverence for and dependence on Him, we can acquire greater wisdom to live our lives in His way.  Sometimes we will not understand, and we just have to trust, but we can rely on Christ and know that He will glorify Himself through us.

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The Bible encourages us to pray for wisdom - and be confident in the Lord as He directs the course of our lives. James 1 says:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

Ryan Rice is a pastor in New Orleans.  He grew up in the church, and was enthusiastic about the Bible, but then his mother married someone who was an abuser and drug user, and things began to grow darker in his life.  Baptist Press has a story on Pastor Ryan, who began to despise church during middle school.  He relates, "I remember sitting there and thinking, 'This is the worst thing ever. I hate church. I hate the people here.' That was coming from a lot of hurt."

Ryan became a popular and handsome athlete who was the high school student council president. He says, "From every aspect of my life, I was empty on the inside," adding, "I was just broken."

He met his future wife and her father while in college. Seane' began praying for Ryan - his future father-in-law led him to Christ. He then recognized that God was calling him to preach.

After college and marrying Seane', Ryan began selling insurance in Baton Rouge. As he prayed he sensed that God was directing him to serve in the children's ministry at church. The pastor there began to disciple Ryan and that helped him refine his understanding upon God's call on his life. He believed that God was calling him to plant a church in his childhood neighborhood on New Orleans's west bank - a place called Algiers.

But, he was reluctant. He says, "I can totally relate to Jonah," adding, "I had this call, even desire, but I didn't want to go. It was a reluctant kind of thing." As he interviewed in Michigan to interview for a children's pastor job, the pastor randomly asked him, "When are you going to church plant?"

Then Rice knew that he had to go home to his Nineveh.  Rice relates, "God has given us the green light of the Gospel to go to a place that is without hope and in need of hope. I'm sold. I said yes..."

He came home and found that the people in his community were at the same place he had been as a teenager. He says, "People were a lot like me when I was in the churchy world," adding, "They know things about God and call themselves spiritual." But, there were socioeconomic changes in the neighborhood: crime was up, and there was economic disparity.

Life Church New Orleans launched in September 2014, and weekly services began the following January.  Most attendees are people whom they met while prayerwalking in the Algiers community, and an Easter outreach connected them to a number of prospects, many who had some type of experience with church but had never made a profession of faith in Christ.  He has found support from a partner church in Baton Rouge and the Southern Baptist Convention Cooperative Program.   This Baptist Press article appeared as part of a Week of Prayer for North American Missions, correlated with the Annie Armstrong missions emphasis.

As I continue this prayer series in The Front Room, I wanted to call attention to how God responds in our lives and in the lives of other people as we take time to intercede.  Ryan Rice prayed about his calling, and God led him on an exciting journey...first into children's ministry, and then as he was faithful to do that, he was called to plant a church in his hometown.  We have to remember that God ordains the steps of our lives and He will show us direction as we develop an obedient heart, which is cultivated through prayer.  The Bible tells us to ask God for wisdom.

There is a reminder for each of us - no matter what stage we're in, we can be confident that God's hand is upon our lives, if our hearts are right with Him.   We may not see several steps into the future, or even the very next step, but we know that He is in control, and He will help us to understand more about the call on our lives and prepare us for the steps upon which He will take us.  We can depend on the Holy Spirit to lead us as we dedicate ourselves to following the call of God.