The world is moving so fast that many have forgotten the beauty of rest.

The Israelites were given a promise of daily provision by the Lord. They did not have to worry about the food they would eat.

To sum it up, life was so simple in the past. No self-imposing deadlines, the clear command not to covet the property and the wife of your neighbor, and the year of Jubilee is celebrated where once the debt is removed. In the New Testament church, no one in the community had to beg because they helped each other cover their basic needs. In God’s system of things, everybody can experience financial peace and generosity from the community.

But our world’s system has complicated matters because we need to succeed. In many ways, greed is the name of the game. Money will never be enough; we need control, power, and fame. So we cover our insecurities and our human need with veneers of wealth and fame. Rich people continue to distance themselves by splurging on things that cannot bring happiness. The rise of commodities and lands would make it hard for people to have their basic human right to have a roof over their heads and eat a healthy meal covered.

It is a sad life for the poor and the “rich.” After watching the movie Elvis (depicting Elvis Presley’s story) and now watching the Netflix series Glory, where a woman’s need for revenge is the only purpose of her existence- we see the empty pursuits of the world.

Elvis, with all his fame and riches, could not buy happiness. Moon Dong-eun dark justice will never satisfy her no matter what. We live in a broken world full of people who need to rest in God.

Then we read the story of Christ and his disciples during a storm.

When the storm came – the experienced fishermen panicked. Jesus slept like there was no storm.

I loved that scene – Jesus was sleeping in the boat during the storm. It is a picture that He is not panicking, but rather it communicates how calm and controlled He is. I need to learn to be like Jesus – to sleep like a baby even when things are out of my control because He is in control.

Rest – we all need it, but we need to assess what keeps us restless before we do. Are we pursuing what the world wants us to follow that would lead to a never-ending pursuit of the trivial, or are we seeking God, who gives us the most significant human need we seek – love, grace, and peace?