For most people this is going to be an obvious answer. "Yes, I am feeling like junk" or "No, my life is pretty great". But to wisely answer this question we must know that we have no true comfort outside of Jesus and we have to see our rebellion (our sin) and what the true end is, Misery.
To live and know that you will die in the joy of the comfort of Jesus’ sacrifice for you does take some understanding. Specifically we are going to have to know that our sin and misery are actually a big deal, how Jesus’s life and death set us free from these things, and also how we are to thank God for what he has done.
But this does lead us to some other questions. One of which is “How do we come to know our misery?“ Do we look at our current circumstances? Do we compare ourselves to others? This is our normal habit but the only way to truly understand our real problem is be told by the one who created and sustains us.
To know how far gone we are down the path of our rebellion and how deeply our misery is rooted we are going to have to look at God’s law.
Paul tells us that the law gives us the knowledge of sin but there is no knowledge of sin great enough to affect enough change in our lives to save us (Romans 3.20)
In order to summarise this law so that we can understand it in the most simple of terms Jesus tells us to love God with all of ourselves and to love our neighbour as ourselves. (Matthew 22.37-40)
And if you think that you can simply check these far reaching laws off your list you may be mistaken about what Jesus is saying. When he says “all“ he means “all“. When he says love your neighbour as yourself it does not simply mean to buy your neighbour some chocolate. He does literally mean that you would do anything for the well being of our neighbour just like you do for your own well being.
And again when Jesus says that all the law and all the prophets rest on these two commands, he means it.
So can you live up to the law of God? No. In your heart there is rebellion and selfishness.
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. (Romans 8:7)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:1–3)
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. (Titus 3:3)
Are you miserable? Probably not. Sin by it’s very nature feels pretty good. But are you in misery? Well that is a question that you already have an answer for. God has lovingly led you to the right answer. Yes, we are in misery and there is only one person who can rescue us from it.
Jesus has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
He also watches over me in such a way
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven;
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.