We give a brief review of the advances in studies of ABAR/CHLH-mediated abscisic acid (ABA) sensing and downstream signaling from early events starting from plastids/chloroplasts to downstream gene expression. ABAR spans the chloroplast envelope, and the cytosolic C terminus of ABAR interacts with a group of WRKY transcription factors, WRKY40, WRKY18, and WRKY60, which function as negative regulators of ABA signaling in seed germination and post-germination growth. WRKY40, a central negative regulator, inhibits the expression of ABA-responsive genes such as ABF4, ABI4, ABI5, and MYB2. In response to an ABA signal that recruits WRKY40 from the nucleus to the cytosol and promotes ABAR-WRKY40 interaction, ABAR relieves ABA-responsive genes of inhibition by repressing WRKY40 expression. These findings uncover a novel ABA signaling pathway from the early signaling events to downstream gene expression. We also discuss future studies needed to understand the complex ABAR-mediated ABA signaling pathway(s).