Encouragement

Hamsters On A Wheel

by "Leta - Message Bringer"
04/17/23
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Picture this: Acts 4:23-31 when Peter and John had been released by the authorities, and had been admonished not to preach in the name of Jesus.  “As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them— 25you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying,

‘Why were the nations so angry?

Why did they waste their time with futile plans?

The kings of the earth prepared for battle;

the rulers gathered together

against the LORD

and against his Messiah.’

“In fact, this has happened here in this very city!

For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor,

the Gentiles, and the people of Israel

were all united against Jesus,

your holy servant, whom you anointed.

But everything they did was determined

beforehand according to your will.

And now,

O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants,

great boldness in preaching your word.

Stretch out your hand with healing power;

may miraculous signs and wonders

be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

After this prayer, the meeting place shook,

and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.

Then they preached the word of God with boldness.”

I have read this scripture before but had not noticed what I realized today.  What I realized was the passion and conviction of Peter, and the format in which he spoke to the Father.  I realized the intent of his prayer and the intent of his heart, and it really moved me.  It moved me to reflect on myself and on how/what I see in the body of Christ today.  While considering this, I saw a hamster on a little wheel.

When I was a teen, I used to raise hamsters and spent hours watching their behavior; how they would jot around the cage. They would fill their little mouths until their cheeks poked out full of food.  Then they would get on the hamster wheel.  They’d work so hard on that wheel, walking, walking, walking, running, running, running so diligently with purpose, but all I could see was that they were not going anywhere. I thought, how ridiculous.  They would work so hard. Running. Toiling. Working. Going in one direction, then flipping and running in the opposite direction. Oh, it’s hilarious when I think back on it.

The wheel would turn and turn and turn. Why would the Lord show this to me, I'm thinking? What am I seeing? Why am I seeing this? Then I remembered I was talking to Him about the body of Christ, and I told him I felt stuck.  I told him, it seems to me that we're all stuck. Then he showed me the hamster on the wheel, coupled with a sweet gentle word, deep in my spirit. That I bore witness to the impression. We're stuck because we're not letting go. Oh…. We're looking at the race. We are focused on the world, and on the race, but we're not letting go of our cares, and without letting go of our cares, we're going to stay stuck.

We're not gonna get very far in proclaiming the Kingdom if we continue to hold onto our cares. You may see a little bit of crumbs here and a little bit of crumbs there, but we're not going to succeed by the standards of the Father until we let go. We have to get off of this wheel. Stop working so hard to go nowhere. Gotta get off of the mundane. Gotta get off of the redundance of religion. We must stop doing the same thing over and over and over again, expecting a different result. That's called insanity, and we can't even see it. Weird little hamsters running on a wheel. We must get off. 

The word says in that day He will pour out of His Spirit upon all flesh….   He's not giving us these visions haphazardly, without a reason. It’s for a purpose.  There were only twelve Apostles. Twelve who turned the world upside down. That's because they had the power of the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit power that was in them, is the same Holy Spirit that is in us, and we need to stir up the Spirit.   We need to relinquish and let go of this world, and the cares of it. They were completely sold out to the Messiah. They were completely sold out to do the will of the Father. They were completely sold out to relinquish their wills (wheels) (I hope you see this) and whatever plans they had for their lives, to do the will of the Father. They were willing to lose their lives to gain Christ.

Where are we with that? Are we willing to lose our lives to gain Christ? Have you sat down and looked at your relationship with him? Have you determined how deeply you love him? How have you determined how far you are willing to go for him and for the Kingdom?  I don't want to be on the wheel (will) anymore, but I know that there are steps I personally must take to get off of the (will) wheel. To be a Christian, Hebrew, or Jew, or whatever I am. I am a believer and disciple of Christ the Messiah. That's who I am. I am who He says that I am and not what the world says a believer in Christ is or what he or she is to portray or look like.

What I am saying I know is not easy because we don't realize we're stuck. We think we’re ok. Boy. Oh, look at this. We go to church every Sunday.  We may even celebrate the sabbaths and the feasts.  Look at this. We go to Bible study every Wednesday. Oh, look at this. We have not completely abandoned ourselves to the cause of Christ.  This is the problem.  I don't want to step on toes. I hate it. I hate it, but those little toes need to get off of that hamster wheel.  We’ve made a little room for the Savior in our lives.  We really should re-examine that and make serious adjustments. Not little petty stuff, serious steps towards our salvation and towards furthering the Kingdom of the Most High.

If we say that we are His, then be His. It is imperative that we stop being so lukewarm. It is imperative that we seize mimicking the world’s ways of attempting to accomplish the Kingdom of God.  We're lukewarm. That is a frightening realization. There's no pleasure in that for Messiah.  There is no pleasure in that for Jesus our King.  A lukewarm church. That's what we are here in America, lukewarm. Yes, you find a few who are on fire, but as a whole… Not so much. I mean just looking at this situation and basing this statement on the scripture in Revelation chapter three. If we are lukewarm, we are in trouble. We have to get off of the wheel (will), people. We must abandon those things that so easily beset us (as Paul stated).  It slows down the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It actually grieves Him. We have to do this.  Time is short.

How do we not know that even while I'm sitting here writing this article, that the trump of God won’t sound?  This is a very serious and critical thing, and we’re asleep, or we're just on that wheel (our own will for our lives) going round and round, round and round, round, and round. Working so hard and getting nowhere. We have to get going church. That's all. We just have to get going.  My little hamsters never learned how to get off of the wheel, and get things accomplished, but we're not hamsters. We are the bride and the Church of Christ.

There are people that are on fire for the Lord. They are filled with the Holy Ghost, and they are proclaiming his word, proclaiming his truth and most of the time you see no results even though they are proclaiming.  This is because they are preaching to those who are bent on remaining on the wheels (will) of their lives. Is this because individually we run on a wheel (Our will)?  Yes, if we take to heart what the prophets of today are saying (those who are true prophets), as well as the prophets of old, we will take their sayings to heart, and we will consider and embrace what thus saith I AM (the LORD).  We must let go of those things that, as Paul so eloquently put it. All those things that so easily beset us. Hebrews 12:1  

Picture the hamster; mouth full of food, cheeks poking out on both sides, full of food, on his little wheel (his will, doing his own thing) with focus, and intent. Truly believing we are doing the will of the Lord, but in truth we are doing our own will under the guise of working to build the Kingdom.  Whose kingdom are you building?   Running, running, running with all your heart, and yet going nowhere and getting nowhere for the Kingdom of Christ. He's got that food in his mouth. I'm sure there's a symbolism there for the world or sin or something, but he's still running and getting nowhere. Think about it.  We have to let go of stuff people, to run this race. And run it: we must.  We must run with vigor. We must run it with power. We must run it with authority. We must run it according to the will of Messiah. Run it with the Lord. Run it in the power and authority of His Spirit.   Run it the way He ran his race, totally focused on the Father, and doing His will.  Abiding and loving the LORD and His commandments, as well as doing what he saw the Father do. We must do what we see our Jesus do. I don't want to get spewed out of his mouth. What about you? Always remember that hamster. On the wheel (will).   

The thought just came to me.  Is that how You see us Lord as hamsters on a wheel (will)?  Wow.

The LORD is watching.  Just as a dear, dear friend of mine puts it: “He sees, He knows, and He cares.”

So please take this with you. What we do, we do from love and by faith. Let us make sure that our faith is in Christ our Savior, and that our hearts, minds and eyes are always focused on Him and his will. That we daily cast out cares upon Him and take up our cross and follow Him no matter what.  Let the Father’s will be done.  His will is for his Kingdom to come and that all might be saved. Not the Kingdom of man that has been established here, according to the devices of man nor the kingdom of darkness. 

May I refer you back to Matthew chapter 5 to remember who we are and the example we are to set for His Kingdom. Let's build this Kingdom. May his Kingdom come, and his will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

These are the words of the Savior speaking to those who are of the Kingdom of the Most High (of whom we are, if we are His).  This is His will for us, and this is the light that must shine in us and through us always and continuously shine.

“You are the light of the world”

The Beatitudes
(Psalm 1:1–6; Luke 6:20–23)

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.”

Salt and Light
(Mark 9:49–50; Luke 14:34–35; Philippians 2:12–18)

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord