"Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

John 8:56

What did you see, Abraham (v. 56)? When God called you to a radically new life of obedience and trust … when you and Sarah were childless, old, and barren … when he promised to bless the peoples of the earth through your offspring … what filled your faithful mind’s eye? When you contemplated the myriad stars in the dark night sky, did you picture the faces of your descendants shining with God’s light? When your toes felt the heat of millions of grains of sand, could you imagine them in their own land, blessing the world? When at long last you gazed into your baby son’s eyes, the incarnation of God’s everlasting covenant with you, what was that joy like? In the supreme irony of your children’s murderous intent, temple stones in their hands, could your joy stretch to see the Messiah’s coming glory? In that space, held only by faith and not reason, what was it like to be overjoyed? To visualize the blinding splendor of Jesus’ day?

Closing Prayer

Eternal God, you keep your promises. Help me to honor you today and to trust you with all I don’t see or understand (edited from Encounter with God).