I find myself walking the early stretch of life that has already passed the halfway mark of a hundred years. Having moved beyond youth, I am now at an age where what I once thought of as a “season of maturity” begins to bend and break, one horn at a time. I have spent much of my life pursuing and chasing many things, only to realize more deeply with each passing year that what truly deserves priority is health. These days, I am intentionally devoting myself to it, having recently experienced firsthand that spiritual health is sustained only when both body and mind are healthy.

Beneath these reflections lies a deeper question—happiness. As far as I know, everyone longs for happiness and earnestly pursues it. People invest time, energy, and effort in countless ways to find and enjoy it. Yet, those who genuinely speak of happiness and live it out seem surprisingly few.

Through countless experiences along life’s journey, I have come to one clear realization: happiness is not determined by money, fame, or power. Those who possess such things often testify unanimously that these are not the source of true happiness. At best, they may be necessary conditions—but they are never absolute criteria.

As a pastor, there is one desire I carry in my heart each week while preparing Sunday sermons. Through the Word, I pray that the congregation may be spiritually and emotionally healthy—and truly happy. I cannot always be certain whether this desire is being fulfilled, but I continue to hope and pray. This longing naturally led me to ask the question, “How?”—how can this kind of happiness be found?

Then, about two weeks ago, while cycling for the sake of my health, an insight dawned on me.

Some may wonder why one would think so deeply while riding a bicycle. But when you pedal hard, blood circulates more freely, and the mind becomes unexpectedly clear. Though the body grows weary, the mind sharpens. In the midst of that intense struggle with myself on the road, I suddenly realized a simple yet profound truth: the wisdom for happiness is found in surrender. Afraid I might forget this moment, I quickly recorded it in the notes app on my phone.

How could such a deep realization be distilled into a few short words? The answer turned out to be surprisingly simple. In the word happiness, if you remove the single stroke—the “I(self)”—it becomes surrender. And when the “I” is added back to surrender, it becomes happiness again. In other words, happiness and surrender are deeply connected.

Throughout much of my life, the center of happiness was always myself—the “I.” Even when I first encountered Jesus, the greatest obstacle standing in the way was still that same “I.” But when the ego knelt before the Lord, when I raised both hands and declared surrender, truths of Scripture that had once seemed distant suddenly became clear. I began to see the kind of happiness the Bible speaks of.

From that moment until now, this happiness has been sustained by the energy of grace. Of course, surrender is not a one-time event; it is something I continue to practice before the Lord, again and again, in both small and significant ways. When the “I” truly meets surrender, happiness seems to be made complete.

That is why I believe happiness begins with surrender.