Vacation will not give you what your heart wants

I love vacation.  Time to get away from the mundane, unplug and rest is crucial for me and my family.  Like many of you, I’ll be taking some time this summer to do these things.  So, I thought I would post a few reminders as we get away.

And the first reality we must face is that a vacation will not give us what our hearts really want.  If I am to enjoy my down time, I must remember is that a vacation is a vain hope for joy, heart rest and comfort.  Sounds backward doesn’t it.  We take vacations for all of those things.  But, a vacation is a vain or empty hope for refuge.  Further, when we set up our vacations to be this, we destroy the vacation and miss the joy we seek.

David said in Psalm 16:1, Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.  I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord I have no good apart from you.”

God is our refuge…not the beach, Mickey Mouse or any of the other things we put our hope in.  If we seek refuge anywhere other than Jesus, we will be disappointed.

So, what do we do?

Pursue what you desire where it may be found.  Enjoy being away.  Soak up new experiences.  Find all the joy you can in what you are doing. Then, push through that toward praise of the One who grants lasting joy.

Have realistic hopes for your time away.  If you have small kids, your expectations need to correspond to what they are able to do.  I want to rest.  My kids want to play.  Somewhere a balance has to be reached and communicated so that everyone can have a good experience.

Rest in God, not from God.  Find time in your vacation to spend with Jesus.  Seek him in His Word.  Get some down time to focus your heart.  You will not know the peace of God apart from time with the God of peace.  Sounds cliche, but it’s true.

My hope for each of us is that we would find true refuge, rest and rejuvenation.  Enjoy your time away this summer.  But, remember, a vacation is a vain hope that will not save.  What your heart wants can only come from our great God.

Over the next few days, I’ll be posting more thought about vacation.