Get Off the Spiritual Hamster Wheel (18 Promises from the Bible)

By Dr. Taylor Marshall

The Spiritual Hamster Wheel is an analogy for how some of us experience the Faith. Do you feel like you are constantly in motion? Are you constantly doing things but getting nowhere in your walk with Christ? Guess what. You’re spinning on the Spiritual Hamster Wheel.

Are you on the hamster wheel?

Or even worse, maybe you feel like you’re beyond the Spiritual Hamster Wheel. Instead, you’re in one of those cursed Hamster Balls!

Do you feel like this? Trapped?

You may be surprised that the the Holy Spirit teaches against the attitude that claims: ”I need to do everything all the time and never stop going. The universe depends on my constant moving and maneuvering. My goal is to be frazzled for Jesus!”

Christ taught us that we are the salt of the earth. Salt seasons the food and kicks it up a notch. Let God be the chef. He only asks you to be the seasoning. Let God prepare the feast. He’ll use you to season the dish. Our primary vocation is to remain salty. Christ loves this type of imagery: “abide in me” or “keep your lamps lit” or “I am vine and you are the branches” or “plant seed” or “invest your talents.”

Sure, we have to do things. Don’t get me wrong. But it is God who gives the growth. We can plant seeds. But it is God that provides the air, dirt, rain, and sunshine to bring about the harvest.

If you trust in Christ, you can “cast your cares on Him.” Here are 18 Bible verses to give you peace and comfort about the big picture of your life.

18 Verses to Get You Off the Spiritual Hamster Wheel

1. 1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.
2. Exodus 14:14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
3. Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
4. Psalm 37:7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
5. Mark 4:39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
6. Psalm 22/23:1-6 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
7. Psalm 62:5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
8. Psalm 131:2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.
9. Job 6:24 Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.
10. Psalm 91:1-16 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day.
11. 1 Peter 3:4 [the context here is for women] “But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
12. Isaiah 32:17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
13. Lamentations 3:24-26 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
14. 1 Kings 19:11-13 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
15. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful
16. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
17. Psalm 61:1-8 “Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!
18. Romans 8:1-39 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

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