It is good to praise the Lord - it benefits us and causes us to flourish, as it is what we are designed for. Praising God gladdens the heart and stretches the mind. It is good to consider what God has done.

We live between pre-covid times and post-covid times, and in-between times can be difficult. But we can draw near to God because God is with us and he is faithful.

God was faithful to Abraham throughout Abraham's life and, like Jesus, he lived a life of service. In being buried in the Promised Land Abraham trusted God's promise to give the land to his descendents, and we can look back and see how God was faithful after Abraham's death.

Abraham makes plans for Isaac in line with the promises he received from God and has been living with. The first thing his servant does on arriving at his destination is to pray. Isaac's love for Rebecca reflects Christ's love for the church.

Abraham mourned the death of Sarah. It is appropriate to grieve. Like Abraham and Sarah, we are aliens in the world who do not really belong anywhere. We are citizens of heaven - it is important to remember where we're from and where we're headed.

Unbelievers may think this passage shows a cruel God, but they are missing the bigger picture. Abraham may not have been angry with God, but he would have experienced emotional turmoil, and yet he obeyed God. It was God who miraculously gave Isaac to Abraham in the first place. God did not withhold his only Son. Isaac lived because a ram died in his place; we live because the Lamb of God died in our place.

Abimelech saw that God was with Abraham. God is with us too, so let's let our light shine, showing love and kindness to those around us, being open with one another and dealing with conflict well.

God makes specific promises to individuals. God provides for us whether we are like Hagar and Ishmael who have reached the end of their resources or whether we are like Abraham who is distressed for others. Abraham entrusts Ishmael's life to God, just as he later entrusts Isaac's life to God.

Jesus is transfigured as he prays. Moses and Elijah, both men of prayer, represent the Law and the Prophets, the whole of the Old Testament, and they discuss Jesus' departure, the cross, the fulfilment of all God's promises. Peter had an old way of thinking, but the Father tells him and us to listen to Jesus. We are also being transfigured into his likeness.

God speaks because he wants to relate to us, not because we've earned this but because of his grace. He fulfils what he says, even with flawed human beings. And God makes us laugh - we can revel in our weakness because it shows God's strength and power.