It’s easy to find my self chasing peace – a way to cope with stress, anxiety, fears, life. But rather than chasing the source of peace, too often I find myself chasing the feeling of peace. It’s that feeling that comes when all is right in my world – the feeling when the bills are paid, the children are doing well, and work is going smoothly. It’s that feeling when everything is easy and I’m not worried about what’s going wrong.

But the problem with chasing this feeling is that I’m not really chasing peace, I’m chasing easy. And when I’m chasing easy, I find myself chasing things that make my life easier. I chase after more money and less work. I pursue after more friendships so I won’t feel lonely and making sure I keep my family healthy so we aren’t stressed. And while none of these things are wrong, in fact many things that make life easier are worth doing, when they become my goal and my focus, maintaining that feeling of peace becomes difficult.

Because life is not always smooth sailing. People you love get sick. Money gets tight. Work can be stressful. Friendships come and go, and life doesn’t always work out the way we planned. And suddenly that feeling is nowhere to be found.

But you know Who is found in the moments that don’t feel peaceful? Jesus. The Prince of Peace.

He’s the one that’s worth pursuing. He is peace when the bills are paid and He is peace when you don’t know how you’ll make the check stretch until the next one. He is peace when you are healthy and He is peace when the doctor tells you he can’t do anything. He is peace when you are surround by friends and He is peace when you are all alone. He is peace when life is easy and He is peace when life is chaos.

He IS peace. The storms of life around you can never shake that. Chasing the feeling of peace can give us momentary rest, but in the end is exhausting. But pursing the one who is the Prince of Peace means that we have peace no matter what our world looks like right now. Pursuing after Jesus means we can rest fully in the knowledge that He is in control and He is with us every step of the way.