This is an excruciating period in many people’s lives.
Scores of us are struggling with the isolation, the limits, and the ongoing challenges brought about by the coronavirus over the past year.
Scores of us have lost loved ones to the virus that has torn through our communities and left families and friends reeling and charred.
Scores of us are doing double and even triple shifts—working our jobs, taking care of our families, keeping our households running as best we can, and trying to keep ourselves healthy and sane at the same time.
And scores of us are asking God for help.
A faith leader, writer, and speaker I know shared a memorable message a few years ago—and many times since then—that is especially apt for the challenges we face today.
Melissa Overmyer, founder of Something Greater Ministries in Washington, D.C., shared this with me and with so many of her readers, believers, and Bible study participants: “Grace comes in the moment … God will provide all that we need. Jesus, I choose to trust in You.”
She added, “It is so easy to get caught up in the past or be overwhelmed by projecting our fears into the future. This is why God tells us to remain always in the here and now.”
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Then she revealed the tip that each of us can use every single day—no matter what we are facing.
“I suggest you take each day, one at a time, and ask for the grace to handle just that day,” she said. “God will give you grace and strength, just as He provided the manna in the wilderness; with each new day came new sustenance from heaven (Exodus 16).”
She went on in this vein: “God will provide what is needed for each new day. We need only trust Him to do it—and remain faithful to what He asks of us in the present moment. God will never give us more than we can handle … with His and the Blessed Mother’s help.”
She emphasized, “He will provide enough resources for all He asks of us, as stated in 2 Corinthians 9:8: ‘Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.’ And with us as Catholics, He gives us Himself each day in the Eucharist. Why not take advantage of receiving our bread from heaven?”
Said this wise faith leader and believer further, “God is more for you than you are. Look up to heaven, right now, and smile at God and picture Him smiling back, saying, ‘I’m here! We can do all things together! Place your hope in Me.’”
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And do so “one step at a time,” emphasized Melissa Overmyer.
“Grace comes daily, in the moment it is needed. Choose to trust and hope in God. ‘But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself’ (Matthew 6:33).”
Each of us needs to drink from this deep well of wisdom, of godly consolation, of help—and of hope.
One step at a time. One day at a time.
We can do that, with God’s help.
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Maureen Mackey is a writer, editor, web content strategist, and regular contributor to Christian News Journal.