Laughter

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then they said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them.”

The LORD has done great things for us;

we are glad.  (Psalm 126:2-3 ESV)

We Christians can be a serious, somber lot.  How sad, when we have so much to rejoice over, to give thanks for, and to celebrate.  Think (or do a quick search on your computer) of the many times joy and laughter are mentioned in the Bible.  Sarah laughed when she heard she was about to become a mother at her advanced age; David's psalms and his life were filled with times of celebration.  One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy; Jesus promises us fullness of joy.  One of the sweetest passages is in Zephaniah:   The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)  Oh, how we need to meditate over the fact that our God exults over us with loud singing.  

Today due to a silly mistake, I ended up with, as my mother used to say, my giggle box turned over.  I could not stop laughing - sitting by myself in the living room, just laughing. It was wonderful!  When I finally pulled myself together, I thanked God because it felt like such a gift, something I hadn't done in so long!  He knew how badly I needed to just let go and laugh and that's exactly what happened.  Most likely, nobody else would have even thought it was funny, but what a good time that was!  

Maybe I needed that reminder.  Maybe you do, too.  Take some time today to reflect on the joyfulness of our walk with Jesus, the reasons to celebrate who he is and who we are in him.  We are not meant to show the world a sour face, dutifully going about our business as if we are carrying around the weight of the world on our shoulders.  I pray that the Lord blesses you with the gift of laughter today - just for the fun of it!

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. (Luke 6:21)

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return

 and come to Zion with singing;

 everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

 they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

(Isaiah 35:10)

Trust

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.  He will bring forth righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.  Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.  Psalm 37:4-7

Trust in him and he will act.  

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.

Trust.  

Be still.  

Wait patiently.

Our God is true to his word, his promises.  The hardest thing for us, his children, is the waiting, being still in his presence - a holy waiting in the awareness of the presence of God's peace.  Sometimes, the hardest thing is the trusting.  Oh, we say we trust God to answer our prayers, to act on our behalf.  But what, then is at the root of our impatience, our worries or questions of "what if"?  Is it not a lack of trust, maybe even disbelief?

Trust.  

Be still.  

Wait patiently.

Delight yourself in the Lord - he delights in us.  Be at peace in the love he showers over us and in us.  Abide in him, rest in the knowledge of his faithfulness, his promises.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  He will never leave our prayers unanswered.  Trust him.  Wait with him and for him.  He will act.

I have been young, and now am old, 

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken 

or his children begging for bread.  Psalm 37:35