Exodus 33:14 My presence shall go with you and I will give you rest.

The Lord told us to come to Him and find rest. The rest ultimately comes from His presence. All of us see the images of rest that are equated with escapism. What is subtly taught is that rest can only be found in the mountains, or at the ocean, or some other dramatic setting.

In reality, for Christians, rest is anchored in a relationship. We need a consciousness of the presence of God in our lives. The late preacher, Vance Havner, wrote:

“We can take a vacation within if not one without. You need not seek rest in the mountains or by the sea if you do not have it in your heart. You cannot get away from it all if you carry it all with you. Paul did not end his days basking in a village by the sea writing his memoirs. he was awaiting an executioner’s axe but his heart was at est. He carried a portable chapel within and there he withdrew to renew his strength. So did our Lord who had no place to lay His head. You too must find that retreat within for no earthly hideaway can give you rest without. Take your vacation all along and when your life is hid with Christ in God you learn in whatever state you are to be content, gloriously independent of time or place.” (Though I Walk Through The Valley, Vance Havner)

When Jesus invites us to rest, He is inviting us to commune with Him.

Hebrews 4:9 There remains a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from His works as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

Jesus is our rest, and He has secured eternal rest for us in Heaven! Do not try to find your rest in sources that ultimately cannot provide it.