Dear Amy,

How much expectation of blessing can we have in the absence of a specific promise or request?

For sure, the Lord does from time to time give very specific promises to specific people for specific situations, and in these we must wait expectantly and with great assurance, resting in what he has promised. But what of the rest of our lives, or those not holding such promises, or those areas of our lives not so covered? What should we expect when nothing in particular has been promised and we haven’t even asked for anything?

What was the first thing the Lord did on creating Adam and Eve?

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

― Genesis 1:27-28

Do you see? As soon as he had created them and even before instructing them to be fruitful and multiply, the very first thing he did was to bless them. This reveals his very nature. What a good Father he is, so wonderfully generous and kind to his beloved sons and daughters! All his ways are steadfast love and faithfulness! Praise him!

Of course we don’t know specifically what Adam and Eve’s blessing comprised, just as we don’t know in our own lives, in the middle of things, when the Lord seems to be doing a work of grace and kindness. What is it that he is doing, exactly, and what should we expect for the continuation?

What are we to think?

What does the world say? Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. Wait until the final reveal before getting too excited. And expect to be disappointed because that’s just how life is.

How utterly wretched! How utterly miserable! That’s not the life to which we are called. That’s not the expectation to which we are called. What did Jesus say?

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

― John 10:10

And David?

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

― Psalm 23:6

Even in the absence of specific promises and when things are still unfolding around us we must be excited. Our Heavenly Father loves to bless his sons and daughters. We should therefore let our imaginations run wild with all the things the Lord may choose to do in our lives. His imagination is bigger and more wonderful than ours, and his power to bless is without limit. May our own expectation of that lead us into thanks and praise to the one who alone is worthy, the source of all that is good in our lives. Praise him!

Know this, Amy, whatever your state of expectation of blessing from the Lord, you will surely not be disappointed as you wait on him! 🙏❤️