I remember one time a few years back I went with some friends to a zoo, and while we were walking around looking at the animals we came across a big bald eagle in one of the cages...I'm a little embarrassed to admit, but I just broke down and cried right there! Being from Alaska it is not at all uncommon to see those beautiful birds flying high in the sky, they seem to content to soar, so when I saw this one in a cage it broke my heart! There are few things more beautiful than an eagle flying in the sky, where they truly belong! Yesterday I was thinking about that trip to the zoo, and God gave me this thought, are you keeping yourself in a cage too? Wow! What a thought...when a bird is kept in a cage they fly less and less until they finally stop using their wings almost altogether! God wants us to stretch our “wings” in ministry, we are not called to be quiet little church mice on the pew! We are called to minister, you usually don't minister without using your voice. Eagles have a very large wingspan, so they need lots of room to fly..many of us have very large “wingspans” in the spirit, but because we haven't stretched out our wings to their full potential we may never know that! Injuries come to birds as they do us, when a bird has a hurt wing they must recover for a time,but I have seen the first flight of a bird that was injured! What an awesome sight, they just seem so happy to be doing what they love! We are injured by the world, and yes by the church too! But once that wing is better you must once again stretch it out and do what you love, the thing God has called you to do! When I got this thought I also saw a picture in my mind of a bird in a cage that was way too small for him, every time it would lift its' wings thy would bump the cage, and then he would put them back at his sides...the sad reality is that is us sometimes, we put ourselves in that cage that is too small because we feel inadequate or useless, but if we could just see our value to God, our ministries and gifts are beyond measure! I often hear the scripture quoted nothing can separate us from the love of God..well, nothing except us! God doesn't even want us in a cage, He wants us to soar high above our problems, no matter what the weather is on earth it is always bright and clear above the clouds! When darkness comes to us we need to remember there is sun somewhere we just need to use our “wings” and find it! Take yourself out of the cage that wasn't meant for you, and place yourself in God's hands, He will put you right where you belong, and there will not be anything more awesome than that, because He never wants us to be in a cage that is too small for us to stretch out our wings! I love y'all..