Joy Comes With The Morning
My
wife is a “morning person.” It is not unusual for her to awaken with a joyful
heart and song on her lips. For her, joy comes with the morning. For me, on the other hand, “joy” is not a word
I would use to describe myself after first waking up. I’m not grumpy per-se, I’m
just a little “happy challenged” when morning comes. I might be awake, but
speak to me at your own risk.
When
David the Psalmist says, “joy comes with the morning,” he is not referring to our
daily wake up patterns. His point is that trials and troubles don’t last forever
in our lives. At some point, the darkness will lift and our joy will return.
Specifically, David is commenting on the duration of God’s discipline in our
lives.
There
are times in all of our lives where we undergo God’s correction and discipline.
Part of the process of finding wisdom and listening to our Father’s instruction
includes receiving discipline from our Father. If we are to grow in
grace and the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ, there are times when God
must discipline us for our “bad behavior.”
Sometimes
we grieve the Lord by our insistence on sinning. Sometimes, even when we mean
well, we can do foolish things and “miss the mark” of God’s righteous standards.
In those times, our loving Father may choose to “jab” us with trials and
difficulties to get us back in line with His perfect plan for our lives. Part of our training is for God to administer
discipline.
“My
son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart
when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” (Hebrews 12:5-6) How does God discipline us? God can and does use various methods of discipline. He
may use trouble at work, hardship at home, or challenges in the ministry. He
may allow us to experience loss. He may
even allow physical ailments into our bodies. These can be the consequences of
our sin. The reason we are corrected by Him is “so that we will not be finally
condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32).
Remember, God’s discipline – when received by us – will always result in
restoration of our joy in Him. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes
in the morning. The result of God’s discipline is growth in holiness and
maturity. And, ultimately, our dark times will always give way to the light of
His presence – either now in this life – or in eternity in His kingdom.