Handling Expectations Through Faith and Healing Conversations
- Wanda Simmons Clemmons, MD
- Oct 28
- 6 min read
Faith-Infused Identity Shift — The Power of Being Asked What You Expect
When we think about healing — whether from a broken ankle, a broken heart, or broken trust — one of the most profound gifts we can receive is to be asked what we expect.
A nurse recently shared how deeply moved she was when her surgeon asked, “What are you expecting from this surgery?” Her reply was simple yet sacred: “To be pain-free and to walk without a cane.”
The surgeon’s response was equally healing: “I’ll do my best to make that happen.”
This wasn’t just medical professionalism; it was relational ministry in motion. It modeled what every human heart longs for: to be seen, heard, and supported in our expectations.
In that exchange, there was a shift of identity — from passive patient to active partner in healing. That’s a faith-infused posture, one that mirrors how God engages with us in prayer and purpose.
Healing Metabolism Through Low-Glycemic Thinking — Setting Realistic Spiritual Goals
In physical health, we learn to heal metabolism through low-glycemic eating — training our taste buds to prefer what sustains rather than what spikes and crashes. The same principle applies to how we manage our expectations.
Setting realistic expectations is not a skill learned through osmosis — it’s cultivated through awareness, practice, and spiritual discipline. Just as we reset our taste for nourishing foods, we must also reset our mental and spiritual taste for healthy thought patterns. Download Your Precision Taste Reset Guide → Here
Unrealistic expectations create emotional “sugar spikes” — bursts of hope followed by disappointment when life doesn’t taste as sweet as we imagined. To stabilize our emotional and spiritual “glycemic load,” we need to engage the mind and Spirit together.
Using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) helps to develop positive self-talk by providing techniques to identify, challenge, and refram negative thought patterns. It works by reporgrammig the unconscious mind to use language and mental imagery that are constructive and empowering, fostering a more resilent and confident mindset. It can become one of our sacred tools.
This method, along with other techniques, help us listen to our inner language, observe our emotional cues, and speak truth to ourselves in alignment with God’s Word. When combined with prayer and reflection, they retrain the brain’s decision loops — fostering holy resilience and renewed neural pathways.
So, how do we even know what we truly want — not just what we crave in the moment?By engaging a process of Spirit-led self-inquiry through the R.E.N.E.W.E.D. Framework — a technique used in our Temple Reset and Faith-Based Neuroplasticity Classes to re-route the mind’s decision tree through divine partnership:
R — Recognize: Become aware of the thought, desire, or emotion surfacing.
E — Examine: Separate facts from truth. Facts describe reality; truth reveals God’s heart within it.
N — Name: Label the emotion or desire with honesty. What are you really feeling or longing for?
E — Evaluate: Take the thought all the way through — what are the outcomes in every direction? What fruit might it bear?
W — Weigh: Prioritize the desired outcome. Which aligns most closely with God’s peace and your divine assignment?
E — Enter into Worship: Give thanks and agree with God that all things are working together for good (Romans 8:28). Worship resets emotional equilibrium and anchors peace.
D — Decide: Choose the action that honors your spirit, mind, and body in unity.
When we apply this framework, our expectations stop being emotional reactions and start becoming spiritual agreements. We no longer chase outcomes; we cultivate alignment. Our minds are renewed, our “spiritual metabolism” steadies, and our hope becomes sustainable — not spiked.
Health Education That Transforms — Not Just Informs: From Awareness to Aligned Action
When we practice the R.E.N.E.W.E.D. Framework, we move from reactive living to responsive alignment. That shift — from emotion-driven decisions to Spirit-led discernment — is the heartbeat of health education that transforms, not just informs.
True transformation doesn’t happen just because we’ve gathered more information. It happens when insight becomes integration — when knowledge becomes wisdom.Transformation takes root when revelation begins to reshape routine — when what we learn about God becomes how we live before Him.
Job declared this truth after a season of testing:
“I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You.” — Job 42:5
That’s the moment when insight becomes intimacy — when experience deepens understanding and knowledge turns into lived faith.
This renewal requires what we might call new postures of trust — not posturing to impress God with our faith or performance, but positioning ourselves in humility before His sovereignty.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” — James 4:10
As we live this out, we begin to experience the power of co-laboring with God — not striving for outcomes, but aligning with His rhythm. Co-laboring is less about doing for God and more about moving with Him. Alignment births assurance; striving births exhaustion.
And so, our expectations evolve. We no longer hold them as ultimatums but as invitations — open hands waiting for the divine to fill them as He chooses.
This is the sacred work of transformation: learning to stand in both awareness and worship, letting wisdom guide our will, and allowing healing to happen from the inside out.
Personal Health Advocacy — Boldly Approaching the Throne of Grace
In this journey toward wholeness, personal health advocacy becomes both a medical and spiritual practice. It’s not only about asking the right questions at the doctor’s office; it’s about bringing those same questions before the throne of grace.
Hebrews 4:16 invites us:
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Confidence, in this context, is not arrogance — it’s alignment. We come boldly, not because we are flawless, but because Christ has made the way flawless for us.
To advocate for ourselves in faith is to say, “Lord, I believe You care about my healing — body, soul, and spirit. Teach me how to partner with You wisely.” This is empowered surrender — the heart posture that says:
“I will do what I can in obedience and trust You to do what only You can in grace.”
When we advocate for ourselves this way, we move from fear-based striving to faith-based stewardship. We steward our health, our emotions, and our relationships as sacred trusts — not as burdens to manage, but as blessings to nurture under divine guidance.
In every sphere of life — whether in the exam room, in a difficult conversation, or in the quiet space of prayer — this model of advocacy reminds us that healing begins with honest dialogue and ends with holy dependence.
Faith Reflection & Closing Prayer
Faith Reflection:Expectations are not meant to control outcomes but to clarify our hearts before God. Each time we surrender an expectation, we trade anxiety for alignment — and find rest in His reliability.
Prayer:
Lord, thank You for inviting us to the throne of grace — a place where expectations are refined and hearts are restored.Teach us to walk in alignment, to advocate for our health with wisdom, and to trust Your timing in every outcome.May we position ourselves in humility, co-laboring with You in every healing process — spirit, soul, and body.In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Take the Next Step in Your Healing Journey
If this message on expectations, alignment, and healing resonated with your spirit, it may be the Holy Spirit’s gentle whisper inviting you to slow down, reset, and realign your expectations with God’s rhythm of grace.
Join me for the 5-Day Temple Reset — a Scripture-rooted wellness journey designed to help you:
Restore your body as God’s temple through practical, faith-based health principles.🕊️ Renew your mind using the R.E.N.E.W.E.D. Framework to make Spirit-led, emotionally intelligent decisions. Realign your expectations with God’s peace so you can move from striving to Spirit-guided living.
Start Your 5-Day Temple Reset Today(Click below to begin your journey toward clarity, calm, and Christ-centered wholeness.)
And if this reflection nourished your heart, I’d love to stay connected.Subscribe to our Radiant Rhythms our Faith-Based Wellness Newsletter for weekly encouragement, devotionals, and tools that help you live renewed — body, mind, and spirit.
🕊️ Stay aligned. Stay renewed. Stay rooted in His peace.
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