Cageless Birds! I like the image. It is not a phrase that originated with me. However, it is a concept I want to pursue.
I first heard about the idea of people being confined in cages from a friend. She shared how the Lord had shown her a birdcage. The message she received was that many of us are in cages and the Lord wants to set us free.
Then, my granddaughter told me about a set of devotional books she was using called Cultivate. I looked into this series and discovered their website is cagelessbirds.com. Their ministry is dedicated to seeing hearts liberated by the love of God.
I am intrigued! I want to be a cageless bird!
My Reader, do you feel like a bird in a cage? Do you want to be free?
Let’s begin by thinking about a birdcage. A birdcage is a wire structure used to confine birds. It is usually large enough so the bird can fly around a bit. However, the bird does not have the freedom to fly freely. It is constrained.
Sometimes as humans, we put ourselves in a cage. Or, other people’s actions and reactions may stick us in a cage. A cage restricts us. A cage can symbolize bondage. We may not be in a physical cage, but we can be in an emotional or spiritual cage.
Jesus says in John 8:34, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” That’s being spiritually caged in!
The Psalmist says in Psalm 118:5 NLT, “In my distress I prayed to the LORD, and the LORD answered me and set me free.” Prayer and repentance are keys that unlock the cage’s door.
Psalm 34:19 declares, “The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.” When we allow our troubles to overwhelm us, we put ourselves in a cage. However, this verse continues to promise we will be delivered. This means the Lord will open the door of the cage allowing us freedom. We do not need to be held in bondage forever.
We do not need to stay in a cage. The Lord says in Nahum 1:13, “Now I will break their yoke from your neck and tear your shackles away.” Like shackles being torn away, I visualize the wires of a cage being cut. The outcome is cageless birds or people.
Romans 8:1-2 tells us, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”
Isaiah 61:1 says, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners.” In Luke 4:18, Jesus read these words from the scroll declaring His purpose on earth. Jesus offers liberty and freedom. Today, if we feel imprisoned in cages, we can call upon the name of Jesus. He will set us free.
Jesus informs us in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” He goes on to declare in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
This allows us to be as free as the birds. We can be cageless birds!
When teaching His disciples to pray, Jesus included freedom. Matthew 6:13 says, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” When we ask for deliverance from evil, we are asking our Heavenly Father to set us free from our cages. He hears and answers this prayer.
Each of us can declare Psalm 119:45 NLT, “I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments.”
Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” We are warned to not return to the cage. This may be harder than we think if we try to do it in our own strength.
Fortunately, we have the Holy Spirit. I see the Holy Spirit being the perfect picture of a cageless bird. In Luke 3:22, the Holy Spirit is described as a dove when He descended upon Jesus at His baptism. The Holy Spirit is our Helper who not only helps us out of our cages, but also helps us stay out of the cages that may try to entrap us. (see John 14:26)
II Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
We are as free as the birds in the air. No more bondage or cages. Freedom! We have the privilege of being cageless birds. Even more significantly, we have the help of the Holy Spirit, the perfect Cageless Bird.
An Apple of Gold 