One of the results of this pandemic is panic. Fear is an emotion we all experience. It begins at an early age, from dread over darkness to worry over monsters under the bed. We become aware of anxiety very early in life. As we transition into the teenage years our fears tend to focus on things like rejection, humiliation and failure. As we progress into adulthood the frequency and ferocity of our fears seems to escalate as we face, financial problems disease, death, ruined relationships, aging, crime, the list goes on and on. Left unchecked fear will control and cripple us. Sometimes our fears are unfounded and irrational but more often our fears are based on rational and well-founded reasons like the fear of disease and death. There are many who have become fearful because of Covid-19. But fear is not a new problem we faced fear before this pandemic, and we will face it after. In truth we have become an anxiety-laden society. We all want answers to anxiety, something that will relieve our fears and reassure us. As a result, we start seeking some source of security, something that will instill peace and produce confidence. Some are looking for security in their savings account, while others are seeking that reassurance through a relationship. Others try to fix their worries through work while some put their trust in the government. Yet none of these solutions will bring lasting success, because they don’t offer total security or absolute reassurance. No amount of gold or government can guarantee success and peace in every situation. So, the question becomes, “what’s the antidote to anxiety, how can we have victory over fear?” In Psalm 27:1-3 we read these words, The Lord is my light and my salvation so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? 2 When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident. Psalm 27 doesn’t just deal with fear, it details how to face our fears and find victory regardless of whether those fears are real and rational or imagined and irrational. The Psalmist gives us four focal points to conquering our fears and today we are going to look at the first one, a call to:

• Look to the Lord – Vs 1-3

In verses 1-3 David chooses to focus on God the Father not fear. He expresses confidence in God and an absence of fear in a very fearful situation, not because his fears aren’t valid but because his God is victorious. When we focus on God our fears flee. When it comes to fear this is the consistent and constant message of scripture. When Peter walked out on the water his fear got the victory only when he lost his focus on the Lord. In Isaiah 26: 3 God has said “I will keep in perfect peace all who trust in me, who thoughts are fixed on me!”Our problem today is that we are looking in all the wrong places. Instead of looking to God we look to government. But it was as David focus on God that he realized that he had no reason to fear. This is why David askes the rhetorical question, “Why should I be afraid?” When he and we consider the character of God, who He is and what He can do, there should be no real reason to fear. As David looked to the Lord he was reminded and reassured of God’s light, salvation, and secure stronghold. He starts by stating, “the Lord is my light…” Very often troubling and fearful times are described by darkness, because we feel lost and in need of direction during those times. If you’ve ever walked into a room absent of light and experienced total darkness, you’re first response was probably one of reservation because you were fearful of making a wrong turn and walking into something. This is not true when the lights are on for light enables you to look and see. The same is true in life, difficult dark times can increase our fear because we don’t know which way to go or what to do. Darkness makes life directionally difficult, but David’s fear disappears because he looked to the Lord to be his light in dark and fearful times. As David looks to the Lord, He sees the Lord as his Salvation, which means that he is looking to the Lord as his rescuer and deliverer. David is not looking to self, society, or the state to rescue him, rather he is looking to the Lord as his Savior. Not only is the Lord our Savior but He is our stronghold, not only our rescuer but also our refuge. David’s panic was replaced by peace because rather than focusing on the problems he was focusing on God’s power. As a result, David asked this question, “so why should I tremble?” If God can take care of you and carry you then why would you choose fear over faith? Today are you going to choose trembling or trusting? Are you going to be fear focused or Father focused?

Yesterday I had to go to town, and I was greeted with an almost eerie sight, everybody was walking around wearing masks. It looked like everybody was either sick or getting ready to rob the bank! My wife and I were one of only a handful of people not wearing a mask. Don’t worry we practiced safe social distancing. What was interesting is that they were all looking at us like we were the crazy ones. Gone were the smiles, either because of fear or because they were hidden behind a mask. God created us to communicate and greet each other not just with the words that come out of our mouths but with our mouths through smiling. It seemed so strange to see all these people wearing masks. I mean before the pandemic we were not wearing masks, or were we? The truth is people have been wearing masks for centuries, trying to protect themselves and hide what is really going on in their lives. And just like some of the masks people are wearing right now we looked ridiculous. We might snicker at the guy with half a bra on his face, but how foolish do we look wearing our emotional masks pretending to be who we are not? So why are people running around like bank robbers hiding their faces? Because the government has told us that wearing masks will help protect us from this virus. It’s the same reason many of us wear masks to hide who we really are, because the world has told us it’s not safe or cool to be the real you. After all people might not like you, they might laugh at you. If you really want to be successful wear this mask and pretend. In 1 Peter 2:1 it says, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” The word “hypocrite” comes from the word that the Greeks of Paul’s day used to describe actors on a stage. It means to “wear a mask.” Actors would put on masks to hide their real identity allowing them to play different parts in the same play. It’s the idea of pretending to be someone you’re not. When we wear masks, our profession does not match our practice. How many have walked away from Christ because of hypocritical Christians who play at being a follower with their lips, but their lifestyle reveals a fraud? Does your witness match your words? Are you wearing a mask? Does your public life match your private life? We are all tempted to wear masks. As believers, many of us have learned how to behave in such a way that people don’t really see what’s taking place on the inside. We can con our coworkers, fool our friends and family, play charades with church members, and even deceive ourselves, but we can’t masquerade before the Lord because He sees right through our masks. So why do we expend huge sums of energy on mask management, trying to look right instead of living right? There are a million different reasons we wear masks and fear is probably one of the biggest. Our fear is that if we show our true selves, the world will say, “Oh, it’s just you.” But being just you is the best thing you can be because it’s who God created you to be.  Oscar Wilde once said, “Be yourself; everyone else is taken.” The psalmist reminds us, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” When we wear masks, we fail to live out the life God intended for us and so we never live up to our potential. Sure, there are a lot of people with similar skill sets to you but none of them will bring the same passion, personality and creativity to the task as you do. Masking ourselves causes us to live a lesser life and never reach our greatest potential. Mask wearing is exhausting because we are living an inauthentic life. Let’s be honest most of us are not just wearing one mask but many. We have to keep up the act and the worst part is not just the exhaustion, but you start forgetting who you really are. When we wear masks, we cut off pieces of ourselves and withholding parts of who we are because we see ourselves as unworthy or unaccepted. When we do, we not only hurt ourselves, but it becomes impossible to heal. Because until you offer up all the pieces of who you are you can’t become whole. It’s like handing someone a broken vase and asking them to fix it but holding back several of the broken pieces. Everything in our lives get cheated when we hide behind our masks. My wife and I recently celebrated the birth of our first grandchild and as I held him and looked into his eyes, I was reminded of how mask free he was. The good news is that we are not born with masks, we put them on, and that means that we can take them off. What are some of the negative message you have heard and held onto? Most of these messages are not true they are lies. So, here are a couple of questions I want you to ask yourself. First, why am I carrying this message? And second if I put it down, what would happen? Probably nothing. The main risk we face is how will the world react. When you take of your mask don’t be surprised if the world tries to scare you into putting it back on. When we refuse to wear masks, it threatens others because it invites them to reevaluate their own lives. It exposes the truth that they also have the power to change, they just haven’t. As the poet E. E. Cummings wrote, “The greatest battle we face as human beings is the battle to protect our true selves from the self the world wants us to become.” When you live your life mask free don’t be surprised if the world looks at you like you are the crazy one. Are there any masks you are wearing? If so why? What are you trying to protect or cover up? How much time are you expending on maintaining your masks? When this pandemic is over people will remove their medical masks but what about our emotional ones? Why not take the time to evaluated your life and see if there are any masks that are hiding the real you.