My friend is an E.R. doctor.

Every day he faces a litany of urgent cases in which life hangs in the balance.

While he’s known for his skill in triage and the breadth of his medical knowledge, what his colleagues most admire is his ability to stay calm in the midst of the pressures and complexities of his everyday work.

He’s become known for one statement, ‘One step at a time.’ When asked to predict what course a disease will take, how far a cancer will spread, when a medication will kick in, or how long it will take a patient to regain consciousness, he simply says, ‘One step at a time.’

Living in the moment is not an option for my friend, it is a necessity – and it should be for you and me.

Just look at the tyranny of the immediate that surrounds us. From financial, career, and health concerns to worry about our national elections, we are tempted to fall prey to the threats of a future we cannot predict, and in some ways, do little about.

One step at a time.

Let’s not worry about things we cannot predict.

Let’s not spend our precious hours in anxiety over a future we do not know.

Let’s not waste our precious time in apprehension of unknowable circumstances.

This Sunday we will hear Jesus talk about faith.

He will chide his disciples – which include you and me – to believe.

To believe that everything will work out, that the world is in God’s hands, that nothing happens to us outside of God’s view, and that nothing happens by accident.

For we can never forget that we are a fragile people who live precarious lives, utterly dependent upon God’s daily mercies to shield us from the unknown.

And we are called to believe that we are always in God’s hands. So let us encourage one another to have faith and believe, one step at a time.