Once upon a time, a magnificent golden eagle flew into a cardboard box. Unbeknownst to the eagle, a gust of wind swiftly closed the top flaps. Though faint streaks of light seeped through the cracks where the flaps didn’t quite meet, the eagle believed it was trapped. While it knew the light represented freedom, imprisoned by this flimsy box it made no attempt to break free. In the confines of this fragile prison, the eagle’s powerful wings atrophied and became useless. Over time, it became convinced that the box constituted its entire existence—and tragically, it never again soared across the mountains and valleys. Ultimately, the eagle met its demise within the confines of that dark cardboard prison.
This story represents how so many of us choose to live.
God has endowed us with the remarkable capacity to soar to heights beyond our wildest dreams. We are created in the image of a magnificent God. Our very nature is designed for life in the brilliance of His light. Yet, far too often, we willingly confine ourselves within the fragile box of this shadowy world. We erroneously perceive evil as overwhelmingly potent and allow our thoughts to imprison us. We mistakenly believe that darkness has won and we allow it to define our outer limits. Consequently, we stumble through life, burdened by the weight of responsibility. Our life is defined by depression, anxiety, and fear.
We settle into a life characterized by only splinters of light.
In the midst of the relentless tide of prevailing falsehoods and fear sweeping through our culture—do you find yourself feeling ensnared, fearful, impotent, vanquished, disheartened, troubled, or even—overwhelmed? Here and there you catch glimpses of the life you know you were intended to live, but are you uncertain about how to break free?
Well, my friend, the hope we have in the darkness is proof of God.
You see within each of us, God has embedded the knowledge of Himself. He is light, He is life, and He gives hope. He gives us the innate knowledge that we were created for greatness! The Bible says:
What may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.
Romans 1:19-22
So what is the answer to being free? How do we spread our wings and explore the outer limits of our God-given capabilities? Well, according to the verses above, we ALREADY possess knowledge of God, BUT we must live acknowledging HIM as God AND being thankful to Him. That is how we will overcome the lies of our enemies who have told us we must remain in the box.
We must determine we are no longer going to live like a fool!
Even people who are born again CHOOSE to live in the box. We choose to live as if God does not exist. I’ve been there. I made God my back seat driver and refused to give Him the wheel. My passions were not focused on loving God with all my heart, soul, and mind. My greatest passions were locked in the box of my family, my career, my looks, my friends, and my sports. God was a mere condiment in my smorgasbord of life.
Then one day, I realized how empty and foolish my life was! Jesus died to make me free, yet I was living like a slave. He shined His light into my box and showed me just how fragile my prison was. He opened my eyes to hope and HIS great possibilities and—-broke me out! He showed me that my box was my prison only because—I allowed it to be.
I was no longer living in a cardboard prison manned by a paper tiger!
The more we surrender to God, the faster we break out of the box and begin to soar. We learn to live in all the fullness and satisfaction God created in us. We remember the hopelessness, depression, anxiety, and fear and—we realize that we would rather be dead—than to go back to the darkness. God’s presence gives us the fearlessness to passionately pursue the unknown. We were born to fly! God gave us His gift of salvation so that we could KNOW Him, learn to LOVE Him, learn to be LOVED by Him and–GLORIFY Him within the great fulfillment and satisfaction of our RELATIONSHIP with Him.
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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