Rest Assured: How to Find Rest in God’s Presence

Are you tired?

I don’t mean simply needing another hour of sleep or a few days away from work. I’m talking about the kind of tiredness that settles deep in your soul.

I meet so many people today who are overwhelmed by the cares of life. They are juggling responsibilities, worrying about tomorrow, carrying burdens for their families, and trying desperately to keep up with everything demanding their attention.

Perhaps you know exactly what that feels like.

If so, I have good news for you: God never intended you to carry the weight of life in your own strength.

The Bible speaks of “times of refreshing” that come “from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:20 ESV).

That is where genuine spiritual refreshing begins, not merely by escaping our responsibilities, but by entering the presence of the One who is greater than everything we face.

And remarkably, God built the principle of rest into His appointed times.

The Feast of Tabernacles and God’s Appointed Times

The Feast of Tabernacles is one of the appointed feasts God gave His people in Leviticus 23. It comes at the conclusion of the annual cycle of seven feasts:

• Passover
• Unleavened Bread
• Firstfruits
• Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks
• Trumpets
• The Day of Atonement
• Tabernacles

Tabernacles is therefore the seventh feast in this biblical cycle.

That makes the theme of rest especially meaningful because throughout Scripture, the number seven repeatedly appears in connection with completion and rest.

In fact, before God describes His annual appointed feasts in Leviticus 23, He reminds His people of the Sabbath:

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:3 ESV).

God established this pattern from the very beginning.

After six days of creation, “… God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day …” (Genesis 2:2 ESV). Later, when God gave His commandments to Israel, He instructed them to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8–11).

The pattern was unmistakable:

Work—and then rest.

Labor—and then enjoy what God has provided.

Six—and then seven.

God Provided Before the People Rested

God taught Israel another powerful lesson about rest while they journeyed through the wilderness.

Each morning, He miraculously provided manna for them to eat. Normally, they were instructed to gather only what they needed for that day.

But the sixth day was different.

God told them to gather twice as much because the following day was the Sabbath. They wouldn’t need to go searching for provision on the seventh day. God had already provided what they needed.

Moses explained:

“The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days” (Exodus 16:29 ESV).

Don’t miss the principle.

Their rest was possible because God’s provision preceded it.

They didn’t have to spend the Sabbath anxiously wondering whether there would be enough. They could rest because God had already demonstrated His faithfulness.

That same truth speaks powerfully to us today.

Sometimes we struggle to rest because we secretly believe everything depends on us.

• What if I don’t work hard enough?
• What if I can’t solve this problem?
• What if I don’t have enough?
• What if everything falls apart?

But biblical rest doesn’t mean ignoring our responsibilities. It means refusing to carry responsibilities as though God were absent.

Jesus Offers Rest for Your Soul

This is why I love Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 ESV).

Notice what Jesus doesn’t say.

He doesn’t say, “Get your life under control, and then come to Me.” He doesn’t say, “Solve all your problems first.” He doesn’t even say, “Try harder.” He says:

“Come to Me.”

That changes everything.

The deepest rest God offers isn’t found in a schedule, vacation, or change of circumstances. Those things can certainly refresh us physically and emotionally, but Jesus offers something greater:

“You will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29 ESV).

That means you can have peace even while circumstances remain unsettled. You can trust while you’re still waiting, and you can worship before you see the answer.

You can rest because your confidence is no longer in your ability to control tomorrow. Your confidence is in the God who already holds tomorrow.

There Remains a Rest for the People of God

The book of Hebrews develops this truth even further:

“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9 ESV).

The writer then urges us to “strive to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:11 ESV).

That may sound like a contradiction. How do you strive to rest?

Because spiritual rest requires faith.

Israel stood at the edge of God’s promise but failed to enter because of unbelief. Hebrews warns us not to repeat their mistake.

Rest says: God is faithful.

Rest says: God’s promises are trustworthy.

Rest says: I will obey what He tells me to do and trust Him with what I cannot do.

Rest is not passivity. It is confidence in God.

What Tabernacles Teaches Us About Rest

The Feast of Tabernacles was a season of extraordinary joy and celebration.

After the harvest had been gathered, God’s people were commanded to rejoice before Him. For seven days they lived in temporary shelters, remembering how He had sustained Israel during their wilderness journey.

Imagine the message built into that celebration.

They could look at the harvest and remember: God provided.

They could sit beneath the temporary covering of their booths and remember: God protected.

They could recount their history and remember: God remained faithful.

And they could rejoice in His presence.

That is still a message we desperately need.

You may be in a wilderness season right now. You may not know exactly how God will provide, where the road is leading, or when the answer you’ve been praying for will come.

But you can remember what Israel was commanded to remember:

The God who brought you this far has not abandoned you now.

Return to the Ancient Paths

The prophet Jeremiah gives us another beautiful picture of finding rest:

“Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (Jeremiah 6:16 ESV).

I love that phrase: “the ancient paths.”

Our world constantly tells us that something newer, faster, or easier will finally give us peace. Yet God points us back to timeless truths that haven’t changed.

• Seek Him.
• Trust Him.
• Obey Him.
• Remember His faithfulness.
• Rest in His provision.
• Walk in His ways.

God’s appointed times are part of the biblical story through which He taught His people to remember who He is and what He has done. They call our attention away from the frantic demands of the moment and back to the faithfulness of God.

Rest Assured: God Is Faithful

When Solomon dedicated the Temple, he looked back over everything God had promised Israel and declared:

“Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise” (1 Kings 8:56 ESV).

Not one word had failed.

My friend, that is the foundation of your rest.

Your circumstances may change. Your plans may change. People may disappoint you. Answers may take longer than you expected.

But God’s faithfulness does not change.

So, during this Feast of Tabernacles season, hear the invitation of Jesus again:

“Come to Me.”

Bring Him the burden you’ve been carrying. Bring Him the situation you can’t fix. Bring Him the future you can’t control. Bring Him the question you can’t answer. Then rest assured.

The God who has provided for you, protected you, carried you, and kept His promises is still faithful today.

Spend time in His presence. Rejoice in His goodness. Remember what He has already done.

And receive the precious gift Jesus promised: rest for your soul.

God bless you!

David Cerullo