Have you ever had that feeling that what you are waiting and believing for doesn’t really exist? It is like thinking the world you live in is Disney World but in reality you live on a potato farm in Ireland somewhere. There seems to be this incongruity between what you think your life should be and what it actually is. It seems your life is riddled with irony and contradictions that you can’t seem to balance. You believe God told you one thing but the exact opposite is what you got. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could actually control most aspects of our lives and end up with something that resembled what we envisioned? What we need is giant sized unicorn coffee cup paradigm.
Just what exactly is a unicorn coffee cup paradigm? I stumbled upon it one Friday while I was preparing my mind for a typical crazy Friday at the bank where I work. I was actually looking for a giant coffee cup meme to post on my facebook wall in honor of my level of exhaustion and happened upon a picture of a unicorn coffee cup. YES this is exactly what I needed to express my intense level of unhappiness about having to work that day. The image triggered an unexpected though in my awkward mind……..THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT MY LIFE LOOKS LIKE RIGHT NOW. Can you relate? Parts of my life look normal, the everyday, mundane tasks that I must perform. Get up, work out, eat right, go to work, cook dinner and go to bed. Same thing day after day. It’s a very familiar scene for me, just like a coffee cup. There isn’t anything magical or supernatural about that to me. But there is the other end of the spectrum, the unicorn, representing imagination, possibilities and majestic beings. Yes, that is the real me, an adventurer at heart, always on the lookout for the supernatural and in anticipation of the next supernatural assignment God might send me. I’m a dreamer at heart, always have been and always will be.
I long to live my days as a unicorn but usually I’m confined to the shape of a coffee cup! And oh how I loathe the limitations of that. I long to run free, living out my days doing as I please and having no limitations. But alas, it is not to be right now. It’s called balance. We need the balance of the creative governed by the constraints of the ordinary. If you feel God has caged you in it is for a good reason. I am confident someday you will have the complete freedom to walk in the destiny you feel designed for but right now cages seem to be your teacher.
CAGED IN
When I think of cages, I think of prisons. When I think of prisons, I think of Joseph. Genesis tells us he was a dreamer from an early age. If I was taking my cues from him I think I would decline God’s request to give me dreams. His dreams cost him everything. So you want to dream…..ok let me have you tossed into a pit and sold into slavery. Oh and then you’ll be accused of rape and sent to prison for something you didn’t do. Finally, after 14 years I’ll have you released and catapulted into the 2nd highest position over the most powerful nation on the earth. Sounds like fun huh?? I think once you get past the fact the your destiny is not about you, it’s about the rest of humanity maybe the hardship gains some perspective. I don’t think it becomes easy, but your realization that the pain has purpose in that it prepares you for something greater makes it bearable. The truth is the best lessons are taught in cages because God has our undivided attention. You have nothing else to distract you when you are in a cage. Cages are quiet and your restlessness eventually gives way to a supreme quietness. I believe these intensely painful times forge in us the character we need for the destiny that lies ahead.
Cages prevent us from making a wrong turn. I believe God knows we often make bad decisions and take wrong turns. Cages keep us safe in that we don’t have a choice. We are stuck there. We have to learn to think of them as protection instead of punishment. When the time is right God will be faithful to set us free. Cages also teach us to rely completely upon God. They create a spirit of utter dependence. This is quite a lost concept to our independent, I-can-do-anything-and-I-don’t-need-anyone-else world! God requires that you depend on Him. There is no room for self-sufficiency in God’s kingdom. He is the only one with all of the power and He requires our honesty about it.
SET ME FREE
Unicorns weren’t meant to live in cages and neither were you. I offer this advice if you find yourself in a cage but you have really big dreams. Just remember it’s temporary and you are an immortal, eternal being. God is only using the constraints of cage to prepare you for a destiny and an eternity with Him. He’s a loving Father that knows what’s best for us and His methods are timeless, flawless and carefully planned. You can rejoice in His character, not in your circumstances. You can have hope because He is faithful, not because you can see a way out. And you can abide in His love because it’s always available, no matter your station or situation. Rest assured beloved, God has not forgotten about you!
