What an extraordinary conversation! God speaks with Abram (later Abraham) and tells him that his offspring will be great in number. And yet this elderly man of God has no child – yet. There’s a vision, and a promise that follows a heartfelt entreaty; essentially, Abram questions God about the blessing God wants to bestow, because he has no progeny, a blessing that seems to have been withheld (v3).

In a world that had never experienced it before, a mighty flood was coming. There was wickedness, we are told in Genesis 6, so much so that the Lord made the decision to pour out judgement, but to rescue the righteous. How sad it is to read that only one family could be found who pleased God.

Adam and Eve have been placed in a beautiful garden, where they walk with God, enjoy His fellowship, and each other’s. Sadly, Eve listens to a voice that causes her to doubt the goodness of God (vv1–4), and the first people disobey the Lord, severing their friendship with Him.

Elijah, the man of God, has seen the Lord do amazing things – see 1 Kings 18, where he experiences an incredible victory! But the formidable Queen Jezebel has threatened him, and now he’s running for his life. He’s exhausted; he feels as if he’s a failure. He doesn’t even want to live.

The encounter that Jesus has with the woman at the well is full of surprises. A Jewish man – a rabbi – speaking with a woman who is not a close family member – alone? Scandalous! No wonder the disciples were taken aback when they re-joined Him (v27). The woman is drawing water at a time when the other women wouldn’t be at the well.

If you have ever been around a moaner, you might find it very waring. The capacity to see the negative in any situation would win them an Olympic medal if it was a sport. The apostle is looking for us to do the exact opposite by giving thanks in all circumstances.

If ‘rejoice always’ is a challenge, then praying continually seems impossible. One man who took this seriously was Frank Laubach, a missionary to the Philippine islands in the early part of the twentieth century.

The quest to know God’s will is high on the list of every committed believer in Jesus. It is, of course, a crucial part of our walk with Jesus, though sometimes God is asking us to use our common sense and get on with living! But the sad thing is that some are agonising over what God’s will is and miss the verses that make it absolutely clear what we should be doing, and verses 16 to 18 of 1 Thessalonians 5 give us clear direction.

We linger for our final time on God’s words to Abram. It is clear that it was always God’s intention that Abram’s descendants would be a blessing to other nations. In Isaiah we are told that Israel was to be a light to the nations around (49:6). In the New Testament the gatherings of Christians across the Roman Empire were to bring a little bit of heaven to earth, so the communities would shine out God’s love and goodness.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul describes Abraham as the father of all who believe. Certainly these opening verses demonstrate a man prepared to trust in God. But in case we become intimidated by Bible characters and assume that they are on a wholly different planet, it is worth noting a few things about Abram.