As we all know, faith is one of the most important themes in the Christian life. We all face moments when God asks us to take a step, along a path we cannot see. Sometimes, He asks us to leave what is comfortable and trust Him in uncertainty, even when we don’t understand it.

What does it really mean to “step out in faith”? What does it look like? How do we walk with God when the outcome might scare us? And perhaps most importantly, how do we trust God when we cannot see where He is leading? Stepping out in faith is not about having all the details. It’s about trusting the One who does. As Paul writes in 2nd Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” I can’t recall who said this, but I recently heard someone say that they walk by faith but continually stumble. 

Faith means trusting God’s character even when circumstances are unclear. It means believing that God is good, that God is present, and that God is working even when we cannot see it.

Rueben Job, who authored a book, Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living, writes, “To abandon the way of the world and follow the way of Jesus is a bold move and requires honest, careful, and prayerful consideration.” Though he was not speaking directly about faith, his words convey its essence. 

Stepping out in faith with Christ is not reckless. It is intentional, it’s prayerful, and it’s courageous.

True faith does not begin with our feelings, our preferences, or our plans. It begins when God speaks to us. Throughout Scripture, God called ordinary people to trust Him:

• Noah built an ark before there was rain.
• Abraham left his homeland without knowing where he was going.
• Moses stood before Pharaoh.
• Joshua marched around Jericho.
• And Peter stepped out of a boat onto water.

Every one of these acts of faith began with a word from God, as Paul declared in Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” We cannot have biblical faith apart from God’s Word. Feelings change. Circumstances change. Opinions change. But God’s Word remains firm.

When God speaks through Scripture, through conviction, through prayer, and through wise counsel, we are called to respond. Faith is confidence in God’s promises even before we see them fulfilled. Now, we can spend the next half hour talking about: 

• Noah 
• Abraham
• Moses
• Joshua
• and even Peter stepping out of the boat.

Instead, let’s talk about Rahab. Why would Rahab trust and have faith in a God she didn’t know? She wasn’t known for religious devotion or moral perfection. She had not walked through the Red Sea or stood at Mount Sinai. She did not grow up learning the Law of Moses.

So we might want to ask ourselves, why? Why would Rahab, a prostitute, a citizen of Jericho, help the spies sent by Joshua?

I’d like to revisit Joshua 2:9-11. 

“I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away for you. for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted, and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you, for the Lord your God—He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”

I want to take note of the first two words in this passage…“I KNOW.” Rahab “KNEW” that the Lord was giving the land to the Israelites. These two words show us the confidence she had in a God she did not know. Remember! She did not KNOW God, so where is her confidence coming from? What Rahab had were stories, stories that had spread across the land about a powerful God who delivered slaves from Egypt and defeated mighty kings. Rahab chose to trust the God she did not know but had only heard about. She aligned herself with a people she did not know and risked everything on the belief that the Lord was who He claimed to be. Her faith was not based on visible personal experience but on hearing of God’s reputation.

This is part one of an edited version of a message I presented in church on Sunday, April 19, 2026. Be sure to return next Thursday for part two.

©2026 Clayton Moore | mooreofclayton.com