“However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you”

Deuteronomy 28:15

At some point, you have to sit down and take a hard look at your life. Why have things gotten so complicated? Why is this happening or that not happening? Why aren’t I happy? Our lives have been complicated with unforeseen challenges and our effort or lack of effort to overcome those challenges. In this convoluted web of emotions and external conditions, we’re overwhelmed, at a loss for what to do. It’s because we’ve forgotten two absolutes that would categorically simplify our lives.

One. All our unhappiness comes from sin. All the “diseases” in our lives originate from sin. When I say disease or illness, I’m referring to anything that is ailing in your life: your job, your marriage, your friendships, your role in society… anything in life that is giving you problems or dragging you down is a disease. When things are ailing in life, you feel unhappy, despair, and anguish. Don’t look to other things to cure these ails. The only medicine you need is finding your sins and repenting. What are you doing wrong? Have you done some bad things you’ve never acknowledged or begged for forgiveness? Look hard for sin and wherever it exists, repent and get rid of it. I can’t stress how blind we become when faced with our own unhappiness. We look at the wrong things and do the wrong things. Stop looking where there are no solutions! Focus on your sins!

Two. Once we eliminate sin, do we just sit still and do nothing? Do we wait for happiness to fall into our laps? No! Faith is the only source of happiness in our lives. Good faith gives us joy. We are sold the dream that if we do this and that, we will be happy. But it never works. We are conditioned to think money, power, or even good relationships will bring us happiness. They can provide joy if faith rests at the foundation of all these endeavors. In its most basic form, faith means doing what the Bible says. Read the Bible and follow its guidance. If we change our lives to conform to what the Bible teaches, joy will spring from inside. We experience true happiness!

So remember these two absolutes. Sin is the reason for our unhappiness and ailments. Faith is the sole reason for our happiness. Another way to look at it is God blesses us when we grow close to Him. And He curses us when we stray from Him. Happiness and blessings or despair and curses- which one do you want? Repent all your sins. Buckle down on faith. Stay close to God. Don’t stray. If we do these things, we can fix our lives and put ourselves on a trajectory toward happiness!

Click for Korean sermon. https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1987-4-10-mixdown-long

Click for English reading. https://youtu.be/CHyp8sXueQ4