It’s an old, old hymn that doesn’t get sung a lot these days. For some reason, I can’t get it out of my mind!
Especially, the last two verses…

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call,
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

There’s days where serving God just isn’t a lot of fun. It’s painful. It’s sad. It’s frustrating. It’s “long-haul” faithfulness when you pray and pray and nothing happens. And then there are days where you SEE the faithfulness of God unfold, and you wonder why you doubt.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to watch another servant of God receive her ordination recognition. (I phrase it that way because GOD ordained her a long, long time ago. It just took humans a while to get with the program.) I wore my robe and red (Pentecost) stole to celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit. I was on the periphery watching God be center stage.

There was a moment when one of the presiders made a comment, perhaps in passing, that touched my heart… “May this also be a time for those of us who are ordained to fully walk in our Calling.”

My first semester in seminary, almost 10 years ago, a wise mentor said almost those exact words to me. She reminded me that God had made the way, that God was directing, that God had the path prepared for me. I just had to walk fully in my Calling.

As a chaplain, I practice active listening, meaning I try to talk less and listen more. (Yes, extroverts can do this!) As a pastor, I strive to do the same thing with God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call…

I know that as I lead a Communion service, or plan a funeral with a grieving family, or sit with a dying patient, or walk the halls with someone with dementia, or try to study and comprehend the latest research of my craft, that I must keep listening to God. Over and over, I hear the wrong voices judging and “correcting” me.

I stumble a lot as I try to ‘stand’ on God’s promises. Fortunately, I am given Grace to get up and try and try and try again. And to help my brother or sister up to their feet as we stumble along… together.

Thanks be to God!