This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against all your magic charms, which you use to ensnare my people like birds. I will tear them from your arms, setting my people free like birds set free from a cage. Ezekiel 13:20 NLT

I have been guilty of fighting battles that aren’t mine to fight. Sometimes I think I try to take on the whole world. I do love the Lord so much – and yet… something feels wrong. It feels like I am a caged bird, wanting to fly but unable to take off. Why?

Surrender. I have to let go of the battles. We cannot change the world. We cannot change our church. We cannot even change our loved ones. The battle is not ours to fight.

You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. 2 Chronicles 20:17a NIV

We are being called to just show up. If we surrender our perspective, the Lord can show us the victory. Intimate surrender at its core means letting go of the biggest battle of all. We fight so hard to be in control and hold on to our deepest desires that we build a cage around ourselves. In our valiant effort to serve the Lord and do good, we fight and fight and fight. We fight ourselves into a cage. 

I am a caged bird. My wings have been tethered for far too long. My feathers are matted down from lack of use. How do I open the cage door? How do I take flight again, soaring above the clouds?

I surrender me.

What about you? Will you choose to open the cage door, or are you content to remain on the perch? I want to fly free, letting my song ring out as I soar above the battles. Will you pray this prayer with me?

Lord, I surrender me. I surrender everything I want, everything I think I have to do. Take it. I know that I have no power to win this battle. It’s won only in You.

Check out Debbie’s new release through Encouragement Café Press, “300 Days: Out of the Dark Night Into Life”, available on Amazon.