"Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their faith. After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples. Atos 14:21-23"
— Atos 14:21-23
How many times do we seek peace only when everything is calm? We dream of that moment when problems disappear, deadlines end, and we can finally breathe deeply. But what if true peace wasn't tied to the absence of difficulties? Paul and Barnabas teach us something radical in this passage: they returned to the very places where they had been stoned, beaten, and driven out. They returned intentionally to strengthen those who would suffer in the same way.
The context of Acts is marked by persecution, rejection, and constant danger. Paul is not in a spiritual retreat when he offers his teaching about tribulations. He is living through them. And it is precisely in this scenario of adversity that he and his companions establish leadership, pray with fasting, and entrust their brothers to the Lord. There is no naive hope here. There is biblical realism: tribulations will come. But there is also something greater—the certainty that God is sufficient through them.
Rest in God is not escapism. It is the deep peace that comes when we completely surrender control into the hands of the One who has already overcome the world. Paul was learning—and teaching—that wisdom is not found in avoiding difficulties, but in facing them with a confidence that surpasses understanding. The one who commits their way to the Lord rests even when everything around them is in chaos.
Today, you may be facing circumstances you did not choose. Perhaps the rest you seek seems impossible. But the gospel offers something deeper than comfort: it offers the peace of knowing you are not alone, that your tribulations have purpose, and that the God to whom you have entrusted your life is infinitely greater than your circumstances. Like Paul, you can rest while you work, trust while you suffer.