You Can’t Trust a Stranger: Faith Begins with Knowing God

Faith…it’s the foundation of being a Christian. Without it, there is no relationship with God, no salvation, and no access to any of His promises.

Faith isn’t some vague force or blind leap into nothingness. It doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. Faith is born in the presence of God and built on the knowledge of Who He is.

Real faith—the kind that stands in the fire and doesn’t bend in the storm—comes from knowing the One in whom you believe.

“Faith, then, is birthed in a heart that responds to God’s anointed utterance of the Anointed One.” (Romans 10:17 TPT)

To say it plainly, faith comes from hearing the Word of God! But it doesn’t stop there – it must be fed and nurtured.

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. (Hebrews 11:1 TLB)

Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you've never seen. (Hebrews 11:1 Voice)

You can’t fully trust a God you don’t truly know. We are living in a generation that has various means of obtaining information, yet we are starving for revelation of who God really is. Most would rather fill themselves up on worldly things than spend time with Him in the secret place. It’s time we return to the pursuit of knowing Him!

Faith Is a Response to Revelation

A couple days ago, I watched a reel about faith. To be honest, it’s what sparked this post today. The guy said that faith has often times been compared to trusting a chair to hold you when you sit. He explained that if we didn’t know anything about a chair, we wouldn’t trust it to sit in and hold us up. We don’t just randomly sit on something without first looking and/or judging it to see if it will hold us up. Through experience over the years, we’ve come to understand what will hold us up when we sit down. The same holds true for God, he said. How can we have faith in someone whom we do not know? What a revelation! Sometimes we question why people just don’t trust Him, especially those of us who have known God for many years. It’s because they don’t take the time to get to know the One who died for them.

“They who know Your name [who have experience and acquaintance with Your mercy] will lean on and confidently put their trust in You...” (Psalm 9:10 AMPC)

Faith isn’t something we manufacture – it’s something we respond to. And that response begins when God reveals Himself to us. But how can He reveal Himself to us, if we never spend time in His Word?

David reveals in Psalm 9:10 that faith is rooted in relationship. You can’t truly trust someone you don’t know, and God never asks for blind allegiance. Instead, He introduces Himself – through His Word, His Spirit, and His faithfulness in our lives.

When you know His name – not just intellectually, but intimately – you learn that He is Jehovah Jireh, your Provider. Jehovah Rapha, your Healer. El Roi, the God who sees. And so on. And with every fresh revelation of who He is, your trust deepens. He’s not a distant idea or a theological concept – He’s a present, proven, and personal God. And faith grows when you get to know Him and He proves Himself to you over and over again through His faithfulness.

If faith feels weak, perhaps it’s not a belief problem – it’s a knowing problem. Because you can’t trust a stranger and God doesn’t intend to remain one!

Faith Grows Through Pursuit – Intimacy Requires Intentionality

You can’t trust someone you ignore. Faith doesn’t deepen by chance – it matures through intentional pursuit. Knowing about God is not the same as walking with Him. Just like any meaningful relationship, intimacy with God requires time, attention, and consistency.

If we want to grown in faith, we have to spend time in His presence, listen to His voice, and prioritize His Word. It means we will have to be intentional to shut off the things that distract us in order to make Him first priority!

When we draw near to God, He draws near to us (James 4:8) – and in that nearness, trust forms. He reveals more of Himself to the hungry heart.

“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” (Jeremiah 29:13 MSG)

Wow! Did you catch what God said?? “When you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else…” See, we can say that we want more of Him and that He is number one in our lives, but our actions speak louder!

Too often, people want strong faith without a surrendered life. But you can’t microwave intimacy!! Faith is the fruit of continued exposure to His character. The more we seek Him, the more we find He’s better than we could have ever imagined.

Faith is Strengthened in the Tension – Trusting When You Don’t Understand

Faith doesn’t mean you’ll always understand what God is doing (in fact, most of the time you probably won’t understand) – it means you trust Him even when you don’t understand. Some of the greatest growth in faith happens, not when everything is going well, but when everything is seems to be flipped upside down and you still choose to believe.

Abraham followed God into the unknown. Joseph trusted Him through betrayal, injustice, and years of silence. Mary embraced God’s plan even when it disrupted her entire future. Their circumstances didn’t make sense – but their faith wasn’t based on circumstances. It was based on who God had proven Himself to be.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5 NLT)

When we’re in the waiting, the pain, or the unexplainable, we’re faced with a decision: Will I lean on what I feel? Or will I lean on who I know Him to be?

Faith isn’t afraid of questions. It just doesn’t bow to them. It walks forward, believing God’s character when His hand is hidden. Faith says, “This hurts, but I know Him. This doesn’t make sense, but I trust Him anyway.”

And it’s in that holy tension – between not knowing and still believing – that your faith is refined like gold.

“Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.” (1 Peter 1:7 MSG)

Conclusion: Don’t Settle for a Distant God

You were never meant to trust a stranger and God has never intended to remain one.

Faith isn’t about pretending to believe – it’s about personally knowing the One who is utterly trustworthy. It’s born from revelation, it deepens through pursuit, and it’s proven in the tension of life’s uncertainties.

If your faith feels fragile, don’t start by trying harder – start by drawing closer. Ask God to reveal Himself. Make space to seek Him. Open your heart to truly know Him, not just as an idea, but as a Father, a Friend, a Refuge, and a Righteous King.

He’s not hiding. He’s waiting on you! Remember what God said in Jeremiah 29:13?

“When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” (MSG)

The more you know Him, the more you’ll trust Him. And the more you trust Him, the more unshakable your life becomes.

Because faith doesn’t begin with striving – it begins with knowing!

You’ve been praying for stronger faith—but God is inviting you to deeper knowing. He doesn’t want your trust to be fragile. He wants it forged like steel in the fire of revelation. Get in the Word. Get in His presence. Seek His face—not just His hand. And watch faith rise like fire in your bones.

Take a moment and ask: "Do I really know Him? Not just know about Him, but do I really know Him in t

he secret place?"

Start today—open His Word, open your heart, and say:

“Lord, reveal Yourself to me. I want to know You more deeply, love You more purely, and trust You more boldly.”

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