There was a worker at the LA Zoo who tells the story of some red tailed hawks they received from the police. They had been brought in cages and told to take care of them until the trial. As time went by, he would see those hawks in cages and it would break his heart. He didn’t know when or if the trial would ever take place. He felt the bigger crime was keeping these birds locked up in cages. Finally he decided to unlock the cages and let the birds out even if it cost him his job. Once the birds were out, they just stood there on the table. He shewed them and tried to scare them into flying, but nothing worked. They had gotten used to the prison of cages and refused to fly away even though he had set them free. He finally gave up and let them back in their cages.
In the book of Exodus we read how the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for hundreds of years. Even though they were numerous, they had adjusted to life in the prison of Egypt. God sent Moses to liberate them and to take them to the Promised Land. On the way there, they kept complaining how things were easier in Egypt. They began to resent their freedom and question God. They started fantasizing about life in Egypt because it was what they knew. They preferred predictability over purpose. They were hoping that freedom brought convenience, but found that it took work. Their complaints reached God who had set them free. He provided food and water for them, but still they complained. With this attitude they could never fight the battles needed to dispel the nations living in the place God was leading them. Instead of taking them back to Egypt, He kept them in the desert until a generation came that was willing to fight for the freedom and promises of God.
Galatians 5:1 says, “It was for this freedom that Christ set us free [completely liberating us]; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [which you once removed]” (AMP). It’s easy to look at the hawks and the children of Israel and think they should have just spread their wings and enjoyed their freedom. It’s another thing to look in the mirror and see if you are still standing by your cage wanting back in. If God has set you free, it’s time to fly. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to cost you discipline, time and effort. God has broken open the doors that held you in and has a place of promise for you. Are you reminiscing about the predictability of the past? Have you been fantasizing about how easy it was before? Those are the lies of the enemy trying to draw you back in and to make you ineffective in a desert land. It’s time to stand firm, armor up and take the land of freedom that God has set before you.
Photo by Taylor Deas-Melesh on Unsplash
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 