Faith Over Familiar: Stepping Out in Trust When God Calls You Into the Unknown
We often cannot see the beyond the next step we should take — and sometimes not even that — but He knows.
There’s a sacred tension that lives between what we know and what comes next.
Between the familiar comforts of the present and the uncertain path that stretches into the unknown.
I’ve lived much of my adult life in that space.
As a military family, we’ve packed up homes, uprooted children, said goodbye to friends who became family, and started over more times than I can count. Each move carried its own unknowns — new schools, new communities, new challenges. And every single time, God showed up. He led us where we needed to be, provided what we needed to grow, and refined our trust in His timing and His purposes.
Now, we find ourselves standing once again on the edge of change.
After thirty years of military service, my husband’s retirement is on the horizon. We know the chapter is closing — but not yet what the next one will hold. We don’t yet know where we’ll live, what doors will open, or how all the details will unfold. What we do know is that we must move out of our home by the end of January… without a clear destination.
Add to that a recent surgery and the whirlwind of preparing for the Heroic Tucson Chapter Launch, and I’ve had more than a few moments of asking God, “Really? Now?”
And yet, in the quiet moments, I hear the same familiar whisper:
“Do you trust Me?”
Faith, I’ve learned, is not believing in spite of the unknown — it’s believing through it.
It’s choosing to step forward, even when the path ahead is obscured, trusting that each next step will appear in time. It’s placing faith over familiar — letting go of the safety of what we know so that we can step into the fullness of what God has prepared.
When we cling to the familiar, we often miss the miracles waiting beyond our comfort zones.
The familiar is easy, predictable, and safe — but faith is rarely any of those things.
Faith asks us to trust the unseen, to surrender control, and to believe that God’s plan is not just good enough… but betterthan anything we could orchestrate ourselves.
As I’ve prayed over our next season, I keep coming back to this truth: God has never failed us yet. Every time we’ve faced uncertainty, He has provided — often in ways we couldn’t have imagined. He has opened doors we didn’t even know existed. And He has always turned the unknown into an unfolding story of His goodness.
Maybe you, too, are standing at the edge of the unfamiliar right now.
Maybe the next chapter isn’t clear, and you’re being asked to trust before you can see.
If so, remember:
Faith isn’t about having the answers — it’s about trusting the One who does.
Reflection:
Where in your life is God inviting you to step out of the familiar and into faith?
What might you be clinging to that’s keeping you from the miracle waiting on the other side of trust?
Can you name a time when God provided for you in the past — and let that memory anchor your faith today?
Scripture Inspiration:
“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out… went out, not knowing whither he went.” — Hebrews 11:8
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” — Proverbs 3:5–6
Closing Thought:
The unknown isn’t something to fear — it’s often the space where God does His most transformative work. When we step out in faith, we make room for divine provision. The familiar may feel safe, but faith is where we grow, where we learn, and where we truly live.
So here’s to stepping out…
Not with certainty, but with trust.
Not with a clear map, but with a faithful heart.
Because when we choose faith over familiar, God writes a story far greater than the one we would have written for ourselves.
