Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” (Psalm 126:2)
If someone asked you to define the word “laughter,” how would you respond? Here is a typical definition: a response to something clever, humorous, or absurd that touches our “funny bone,” resulting in an outburst of laughter. I’m sure you have heard that laughter is good for the soul (Proverbs 17:22), but there is another kind of laughter that is not only good for the soul, but is absolutely glorifying to God.
Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” (Genesis 17:17)
Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.” And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” (Genesis 21:6-7)
This is holy laughter. This laughter comes from the depths of a soul that trusts in God completely, in spite of the circumstances, knowing, just as the psalmist knew, that our Lord has done great things for us. God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations, and He kept his promise when Abraham had reached the ripe old age of 100; Abraham’s wife, Sarah, was 90. Holy laughter submits and surrenders to the will and work of God in His timing and in His way. Holy laughter springs from a soul that magnifies the Lord when the sky is blue and the clouds are fleecy . . . and also when dark storm clouds roll in, bearing hurricane-force winds.
One of the lessons that you and I must take from Abraham and Sarah is just how insignificant our obstacles truly are to God. When we think about our problems, which we so often make into mountains, we must remember that those same problems look like insignificant molehills to the Almighty. To be sure, the obstacles for a couple as old as Abraham and Sarah to conceive a child were absolutely overwhelming. In the natural realm, such a thing was utterly impossible. But remember, with God nothing is impossible when it comes to God’s plan and purpose for our lives. That thought should fill us with holy laughter from the time we put our feet on the ground at the start of the day until the time we slip under the covers at night.
A sense of humor is a good thing, but it can be shallow, secular, and devoid of the supernatural. But holy laughter—laughter that is rooted in the truth of who God is, what God has done, and what God has promised to do—should be the mark of every disciple of Christ. The gift of holy laughter flows from a spiritual vision that has been shaped by the promises of God . . . promises that find their “Yes!” and “Amen!” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20).
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 