The Shepherd's Desk
August 17th, 2026
A Letter To The Family.
To the Saints at Covenant of Grace,
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have been sitting with our Savior's words from Matthew 6 lately — "Do not worry about your life" — and I felt compelled to write to you, because I know I am not the only one among us who lies awake at night carrying things too heavy to hold. Money. Health. A strained relationship. A decision that won't resolve. Anxiety is not a rare visitor for most of us; it is a regular houseguest. And Jesus, in His great tenderness, does not merely tell us to stop. He shows us where to look.
He points to the birds. He points to the lilies. Ordinary things — things we pass by every day without a second glance — and through them He teaches us that our heavenly Father is nearer, wiser, and more attentive than we imagine. If God feeds the birds and clothes the grass with splendor beyond Solomon's, how much more will He care for you? You are not insignificant. You are not disposable. God's care for you is not measured by your productivity or your market value. It is measured by the love that made you and holds you.
But our Lord is practical, not just poetic. He gives us a re-orienting command: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." This is not a call to passivity. He is not telling us to stop working or planning. He is inviting us to work and plan in trust rather than in frantic control. When God's reign becomes our first priority — when we choose worship, generosity, reconciliation, and justice even when time is tight — something shifts. The grip of worry loosens.
And then He speaks to our tomorrows: "Do not worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." He does not promise an easy life. He promises a different orientation toward time — present trust rather than future fretting.
Beloved, if you hear "do not worry" and feel shame because you cannot make your anxiety simply vanish, hear this clearly: grace meets us in our weakness. Jesus calls not for perfection but for trust — and trust grows. "People of little faith" is not His final word about you; it is an invitation to a greater faith. And if your anxieties are clinical — persistent, paralyzing, robbing you of sleep or peace — seeking medical or counseling help is not a failure of faith. It is faithful stewardship of the body God gave you. Faith and help go hand in hand.
So this week, I ask you to take one concrete step. Name a worry on paper and bring it to God in honest prayer. Begin your mornings with even five minutes of stillness before Him. Call one brother or sister and share what you are carrying. Give away something you have been holding onto out of fear. These are small acts of faith — and our God delights to meet us in the ordinary, just as He meets the birds at the feeder and the wildflowers on the roadside.
The Creator who clothes a lily cares for you. Let us lean into that truth together.
Your brother and fellow pilgrim,
Dr. Patrick Vossen, Founding Pastor
CGMF
"'Therefore, I say to you, don't worry about your life… Instead, desire first and foremost God's kingdom and God's righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.' — Matthew 6:25, 33 (CEB)"
