Many years ago I had a little Parrot who refused to get out of the cage even when the door remained open. I wanted to know what causes this and this is what I find out on the All About Parrots website.

The Parrot May have some type of phobia, or trauma, or is territorial. Then the author explained and I quote, “Phobia is usually caused by long-term neglect and a lack of socialization by owners who become too busy to offer their parrots the appropriate level of interaction.

As a result, the parrot sees its cage as its safe space and will refuse to leave it. Consequently, the parrot will require training and encouragement to overcome its ingrained fear. Owners must interact with their parrots to make them feel comfortable and safe in their presence.

If something traumatic happened while your parrot was out of its cage, it might develop a fear of going outside. Trauma could include an accident or injury, such as flying into a window or ceiling fan. The parrot may also have been spooked by a noisy appliance, such as a vacuum cleaner or TV.

As a result, the parrot has developed negative connotations with being outside its cage. A potential way to deal with this is to move your parrot’s cage to a different location that’s not connected with past trauma.

Some Parrots see their cage as their own, so they’ll defend it – just like they would with their territory in the wild. This is most likely if the cage is shared with another parrot.

Macaws, lovebirds, and quaker parrots are most prone to territorial behaviors and will become aggressive while defending their cage. When you attempt to get the parrot out, it will lunge and bite.”You may ask yourself why I bring this anecdote about parrots. Well, let me explain.

I heard a story of a woman that is in an emotionally abusive relationship. Many times she called the police and whenever they question the abuser, he claimed that the door was never locked and that she could leave at any time.

The woman was asked by the police, why not leave? She responded, “I got used to the neglect and lack of socialization throughout my marriage that I developed a phobia that prevented me from leaving. He make sure all my friends and family were gone and convinced me that everyone was against our relationship and that we only needed us and God.

Then one day I decided to leave, and I left, but I was so spooked by the noises of other people’s opinions and comments. Day after day I was bombarded with the “I told you so” so I developed a negative connotation to being outside and decided to go back to my cage.

With my return, I became territorial and decided to defend my cage against everything and everyone that I consider a threat. I became so aggressive towards anyone that attempted to get closer to the cage that I would lunge and bite them even when their intentions were good.

Today, my cage is still open. I can leave at any time and he has not changed. The emotional abuse is still happening but the fear of what people may say, of being ridiculed or losing what I have worked so hard for, keeps me in the cage until this day.

The moral of the story is this. It takes more than an open door to flee a cage. Sometimes our minds are so taken by the dogmas of men or the patterns of this world that no matter how visible the situation is, we might feel there is no escape. If we want to escape our mental, emotional or spiritual cage we need to fight the battle of the mind with spiritual weapons. When we use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, we can knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and destroy false arguments. 1 Corinthians 10:4 After we do this, we need to not be conformed. Not be or act like the world. Not follow its patterns of destruction. We have been fed so many erroneous things throughout our lives that sometimes we are not able to differentiate between the error and the truth.

Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” This is why it is so important not to seek worldly views but to seek the will of God. To have a perfect understanding of this, we had to go back to our secret chamber and ask God what His good, pleasing and perfect will is. If we do this we will be able to win the war against our minds.

I tend to pay a lot of attention to people’s opinions and views of me. When I allow this, I get weaker. Anxiety kicks in and insecurity as well but when I go to my secret place with my God and I pour my soul into his heart, the experience is totally different. I can find peace with Him. My understanding of the problems I am facing cleared up. I can see where the enemy has planted a weed and I can ask God to reap it from me.

Our insecurity speaks about our identity in Christ. How we see ourselves is often shaped by our early experiences in life. Due to sexual abuse in my early childhood, I had a very messed up self-image. When I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I desperately needed to believe that I was who God says I was. Ephesians 2:10

Don’t get me wrong. In my early years as a newborn Christian, I believed in Jesus and I knew He forgave me of all my sins and possibly that I would go to heaven. Unfortunately, I have no peace, no joy, and no victory over my life or my relationships, and condemnation was present all the time.

As a way of coping with my feelings, I try to find my identity in things, and people, rather than looking for God alone. 2 Corinthians 5:17 and even though Jesus paid the price for my sins, I have no idea how to receive this gift. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we are to live our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises.

I had to ask myself, Marta do you believe that Jesus loves you? Then I answer, yes. I believe Jesus loves me as long as I do what is good. Then the Holy Spirit responded, Marta, Jesus loves you when you were deep in your sin. His love is unconditional. Nothing you can do will stop Jesus from loving you. It was a tremendous breakthrough. Today I can honestly say, I am healed and victorious. My heart can truly say, God, You Love Me So and because you love me, I can now love myself.

If you are reading my post, is not a coincidence that you are here. God brought you to this post with the purpose of setting you free. I encourage you to go deep in the word of God and learn who you are in Christ. Once you learn your identity in Him then you will be able to fly high and free as he intended you to be. He will show you the way as you walk in His wisdom. Fix your eyes on Jesus, see the victory and walk in it.

Isaiah 30:20-21

And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.