Hello, my friends. I’m Jay Wolfe, pastor at Montgomery’s First Baptist Church.

We are in a very unique season within our lives, within our country, within our world. It will be called the coronavirus crisis.

Right now what I’m sensing is an atmosphere of fear. And here’s the problem. Franklin Delano Roosevelt got it right. One of the greatest things to fear is fear itself. He spoke to the nation words of peace and calm right in the middle of the Great Depression. As we plunged into the terrors of World War II, he kept saying, one of the greatest things to fear is fear itself. Why? Because when you’re filled with fear, you don’t think clear. That’s why the Bible says time and again, fear not.

What did God say to Joshua as they prepared to enter the promised land and deal with new enemies and new opportunities? He said, be strong and courageous. Do not be fearful or dismayed, because I am with you as you go.

Let those solid words of faith ring in your spirit, and then listen to this story about how fear makes you think unclear. It was 1991 on January the 19th. The Iraqis were bombing the Israelis. They were shooting Scud missiles at them. It was believed that the warhead of the missile contained dangerous chemicals, mustard gas that would be deadly. So the Israelis went out and by the thousands they purchased gas masks. But when the rain of missiles started to hit, not one Israeli died from those missiles, but on January the 19th, three Israelis died from fear, because when the bombs started to hit, they were so afraid, they were so terrified, they were so panicky they didn’t read the instructions on the gas mask. They put them on wrong and three people died from asphyxiation, and another dozen died from heart attacks.

Fear is deadly. It’s a toxin. One of the greatest things to fear is fear itself. That’s why the Bible tells us, Paul is speaking to Timothy. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. So choose faith over fear so that you can think clear.