Bjcorbin's Blog

For years I stared at the bars of my cage

and was oppressed by their unyielding countenance

*

They were built too close together to slip between

but far enough apart to view what I could not reach

*

They had always defined the borders of my world

and I could not imagine what might ever change that

*

But one day I heard Your voice telling me to turn around

and I saw that there was a door behind me, which was standing wide open

*

I wondered if that threshold had always been there

and whether it’s gate had been so ajar

*

I looked to my wings, as if I expected them to respond on their own

but they remained quietly by my sides

*

It occurred to me that I might be a flightless sort of bird,

whose feathers were simply meant for warmth

After all it’s not as if I’d ever actually flown

But something within me knew that wasn’t right

*

I looked to my tiny talons, which so firmly clung to the perch

that narrow dowel that I’d long viewed as a place of exile

and I wondered at what might loosen their grip

*

Maybe it will be good enough to know that the door is open

and that I can leave whenever I want

Maybe I can be content with knowing that these wings have flight within them

even if I never feel the wind beneath them

Maybe if I sing the song that free birds sing – I will feel free

*

Now I stare at that open door like I once stared at the bars of my cage

Now I understand that the barriers within my soul are far more oppressive than the ones that surround me

And that freedom must first be grasped within the heart

before it can be experienced in the body

____________________________

This is my interpretation of something I saw in a vision. I believe that the initial picture is that of a natural man, who lives by his senses. When he hears the voice of his Creator and comes to the place of repentance, he finds that Christ has facilitated his freedom, but that revelation doesn’t necessarily cause him to live as a free man. He may also have the revelation that he was designed for so much more, but that by itself does not cause him to fulfill the potential of his design. He sings songs of freedom, but he never leaves the cage. The enemy tries to convince him that this is all there is, but the Spirit of God continues to confront him. I feel like the Lord said that this is a picture of too many of His children and that without faith it is impossible to please Him. He also reminded me that it is for freedom that He set us free!

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The problem isn’t as much what we’ve done

As it is what we’ve left undone

The problem isn’t as much our unmet needs

As it is what we’ve considered to be essential

The problem isn’t as much our inability to hear

As it is our unwillingness to listen

The problem isn’t as much what we’ve yet to grasp

As it is what we’ve been unwilling to let go of

The problem isn’t as much our lack of knowledge

As it is how little we’ve used the information we already have

The problem isn’t as much that we don’t wish to be changed

As it is our unwillingness to endure the process of transformation

The problem isn’t as much that we are without hope

As it is what we’ve invested that hope in

The problem isn’t as much that we lack faith

As it is our unwillingness to genuinely trust

The problem isn’t as much what we’ve considered evil

As it is what we’ve rationalized as being good

The problem isn’t as much our failure to preach the Gospel

As it is our failure to reflect Christ’s character

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