Genesis 17

"Abraham fell to the ground, laughed, and thought in his heart, 'Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?'"

Genesis 17:17

Yet another reason why I'm surprised God chose Abraham.  Even when directly told by God that Sarah will have a child, he laughs in disbelief.  Why does God continually choose people of so little faith for such immense blessings?  Maybe it's because God knew that Abraham was the only old man willing to cut of part of his manhood?

On that note, it literally pains me to read about a grown man and all of his grown servants and his pubescent son all getting together and circumcising themselves...  Ouch!  As a baby, sure... they're too young to remember the pain.  As a grown man, though?  Ouch...  He doesn't have enough faith to believe a direct promise from God, but he's willing to circumcise himself for the covenant.

Why did God require circumcision, of all things?  He says in verse 11 that the circumcision is a "sign of the covenant between Me and you."  Why such a personal sign that you can't show off?  It seems like it would be a good idea to have a sign that's highly visible, not one that only comes out in the bathroom and the bedroom.

I think that all of these things emphasize how God desires an intimate relationship with all of us.  He didn't want a public sign of the covenant, but rather one that only the man (and his wife, of course) would see.  He wanted a man who was willing to follow even when he didn't have tangible assurance of God's promise.

What is God promising me today?  What is God asking me to do today?  What can I do today to show God that I desire to follow Him?