The Coronavirus pandemic is fueling fear beyond anything seen in recent history. Panic buying of food and toilet paper and other bizarre behavior dominates the evening news.

Exactly what are we so afraid of?

Certainly, we are concerned about how to survive in the days ahead with loss of income and shortages of essential commodities. But there is one fear that tops the list – the fear of death.

The fear of death, be it ours, or that of a loved one is a lifelong companion. It is also the driving force for our longing to find that reassurance that death is not the end of our existence. It is the ultimate reason that we struggle to develop faith.

If we were to be completely honest and analytical about our fear of death, we would probably realize that it is the fear of the unknown. It is the fear that our death means the end of our self-awareness, the end of all we know, the end of a lifetime of human experiences. We cannot conceive of our existence and all our history vanishing like the light from a lamp when the bulb burns out. Poof – you’re gone.

That’s where faith comes in.

Faith is the hope and the expectation that our existence continues beyond the moment of physical death. Faith is unique because it is different from knowledge. It is different because it is a belief in a future that is unproven by human standards and personal observation.

The power of faith lies in the belief of that unproven future. The weakness in faith is that such power is entirely dependent upon the intensity of that belief. And that is where most of us struggle.

The Bible tells of an event where Jesus walked upon the waters of a sea. We might question whether He practiced such an act, or whether He just did it. We might conclude that Jesus was successful, not because He believed he could do it, but because He knew with a certainty that He could do so. The Bible also reveals that Peter began to walk across the water until his logical doubts caused him to sink.

This is probably the most powerful example of why we need to build a reserve of faith and how it can keep us afloat to the degree that we sincerely believe.

It is also an example of how a strong faith can calm the storm of our anxiety.

Once we accept that death is merely a transition to another state of continuing existence, once we realize that human existence is just a stop along the way to the eternal existence of a spiritual being, our anxiety is relieved.

While we are busy stocking up on foodstuffs and toilet paper, maybe we need to build up that reservoir of faith.

Then we will have faith when we need it.