The mind of man has been so perverted, twisted in understanding of truth, that when we read the word of God it does not make sense to us. When we do not “agree” or “see” what the word of God is saying, we reject the help that will align us with truth and set us free from our misery. If we will accept, though we don’t understand, what God is saying and we allow Him to work in our lives, by being obedient to His voice, surrendered to His instructions, and committed to His process, we will find joy unspeakable, life abundant and glory indescribable in our lives. Plus people will say things about you, you don’t see in yourself, like you radiate joy; you have peace I don’t have; or you carry yourself with such confidence. Oh my friends, God knows what He is doing, trust Him.

As we look at the landscape of Christianity we see a culture that shuns discipline and embraces weakness. It is as though we don’t want people to be strong, resilient, corrected or directed, so we leave them to their own ways and wonder why they are miserable. The lack of joy in the body of Christ is directly related to the lack of discipline in the body of Christ. This is true of children in families as well. When parents don’t discipline their children, they will find they have kids who are not “happy”. Discipline is not fun to do nor to receive, but the Bible is very clear it is a great producer. Job 5:17 says, “Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.” Hebrews 12:5-6 says, “MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”

We would not tie discipline to joy or happiness, but God does. He knows when He disciplines us or uses others to discipline us, we are hearing the truth and the truth is setting us free and freedom is where joy is released from. So, when you see a truly joyful person, who exudes joy, it is not personality, it is the fruit that is produced when we are disciplined by the Lord and others and surrender to it. My friends, discipline is not fun, but it is a powerful producer of joy, and we in the body of Christ need to be disciplined for we lack joy.