Declutter unmet expectations and unanswered prayers by Lourdes Hernandez

Hello Brave Hearted Steppers,

"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 NIV

I have tried to start this blog several times already – LOL! At first – I wanted to focus on the unmet expectations and unmet prayers part, because I do believe that as believers these are things that can bring us to frustrated seasons. To seasons of separation, and not the kind where you are separated with God, but where you find yourself separated from God. But it would be too much to unpack together in one place.

So………………………………………………………….. Because, just like the unmet expectations we have encountered as people, we oftentimes feel like God has failed to meet our expectations of him. And, since it doesn’t look like what I want it to, then it isn’t the answer I WANT and it isn’t from God. Yet still, there are so many pieces of scripture that are put out for us – and we assume that they apply right now, but sometimes, the answer to our prayer is not yet, and what we do in the waiting is the most crucial part.

We are led to believe that everything is a YES and AMEN, but that is only to HIS PROMISES. And we believe that we will get EVERYTHING that we ask the FATHER for, except, we forget that it must be in HIS WILL.

So we travel through life with these shortcomings because we want a right now effect, in a realm that requires endurance, perseverance, and dependence. So, in my heart and in my spirit, the Lord has led me to talk about the “decluttering” part. First, we are almost in spring, and that definitely calls for some Spring Cleaning. Secondly, because it is important that we understand what decluttering means and what I must do after that in order to continue on this journey towards being a Brave Hearted Stepper.

One dictionary defined it as removing clutter from a place – and left it there. But another one says this: “to remove things you do not need from a place, in order to make it more pleasant and more useful”. If you don’t know me by now, you know that I always talk about intentionality. So, if there is going to be a decluttering of the unmet expectations and unanswered prayers, I have to be the one doing the decluttering.

We can’t only pray that God takes those things away, we must also DO so that those things can consistently be further away from us. Because unmet expectations and prayers bring forth disappointment, sadness, frustration, and feelings of defeat and they make you think that God isn’t listening. The same exact things the enemy capitalizes on to keep you from drawing nearer to God.

Let’s keep it simple – in order for me to declutter – I have to:

1. Write down those unmet expectations and unmet prayers.

     a. Don’t be afraid to list them, 1 by 1. This is necessary!

2. Pray over them and bring them to the feet of Jesus.

3. Use the TRUTH of the word to begin to undo the unmet part of those expectations and prayers.

4. Go back, write down the promises God has made to you.

What does this mean? This means that I have to look for what the Lord says about those expectations I have failed to meet. I need to become aware of my identity in Christ and become aware of what my purpose is in the Lord.

Can I ask you – do you know what God expects of you? Let me tell you – to LOVE him with all of your heart and all of your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is what it is that God wants. He doesn’t need you to be the smartest, the prettiest, the best at anything, he just needs you to be surrendered to him. And I then, write down what God has promised me. But, the Lord has never given me a word (through prophecy), perhaps this is what you are saying as you read this. But he has given you ALL OF HIS WORDS in the BIBLE and in it you will find HIS PROMISES, and that is what you need to write down. Because those are the truths concerning what he commits to do for you. Without this, we are coming to God for things outside of our design and we are falling short because those expectations weren’t supposed to be there for us anyways.

We are also coming to God concerning things that aren’t part of our destiny, prayers that aren’t aligned to his will, and we constantly find ourselves discouraged. I need to then pray his word and declare those promises, because I know that, in HIS time they will come to PASS!

So, it is time to declutter and make room. But when you make room, it has to be filled by God and by HIS WORD. Because if we make room and fill it up with the same things again, then we didn’t get to the goal we wanted, and we end up in the same cycle feeling the same way. It is time to be set free, it is time to keep it simple, it is time to go back to the WORD. 

Because God wants you to move from hoarding the unmet expectations and unanswered prayers, to being filled BY HIS TRUTH and walking towards your PURPOSE and DESTINY. This place, my heart, must be filled with the most USEFUL tool – HIS WORD – because that is what will make this walk PLEASANT!

Are you ready to make this change? It’s time for you to spring clean your soul and your heart – it is time to become a BRAVE HEARTED STEPPER who STANDS ON THE TRUTH and is FREE!

Blessings,
Lourdes Hernandez
Brave Hearted Blogger