“The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh?’” Genesis 18:13 NIV.
God can turn
incredulous disbelief into inexpressible delight.
My thoughts and comments today ask, “Who’s laughing
now?”
Have you thought much about laughter? I amused myself one day by
thinking of the variety of words to describe differing forms of laughter
like: smile, grin, smirk, giggle, titter, snicker, chuckle, cackle,
guffaw, but my favorite may be chortle. I am chortling just reading these
words.
As the words differ, all laughter is not the same either. There
is a nervous laugh from discomfort when a person is unsure or
uncomfortable. There is a scoffing or skeptical laugh of disbelief
when something sounds too good to be true or you know to be untrue. There is
the sound of a friend laughing with you, differing from the awkward moment
when someone is laughing at you. And there is the happy laugh
of your own joyful anticipation of good.
“The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh?’” Genesis 18:13 NIV. Sarah’s incredulous
laugh happened before discretion could stifle it. Hearing Abraham being
told that she would have a child was more than she could mentally process or
dare to believe. That time of life was long past. Read Romans 4:17-22
NKJ and Hebrews 11:11-12 NIV.
Months later, Sarah again laughed but her laugh was far
different as she cradled the miraculous son in her arms, as promised by
God. God had changed her laughter from incredulous to
incredible! Sarah named her son Isaac, whose name means, “God
has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.” Genesis 21:1-8. God changed her
laughter forever from disbelief to inexpressible joy. Others would never again
laugh at her, but would laugh with her.
Maybe there are prayers you have not dared believe God would, or
could answer. A promise of God that once warmed your heart now seems too long
delayed, until you are no longer expectant. Maybe dreams and hopes that once
brought joyful anticipation now silence your laughter. There is good
news. God has a plan for you that will turn your laughter of disbelief
into inexpressible delight. “For I know the plans I have for you .
. to give you hope and a future.”Jeremiah 29:11 NIV.
Every day, God wants to birth new life in and through
you. He whispers promises of your future that He will fulfill. God’s delays
are not denials. “For I will turn their mourning to gladness; I will
give them . . joy instead of sorrow.” Jeremiah 31:13 NIV. Isaiah prophesied
of Messiah, “The Spirit of the Lord has anointed Me . . to comfort all
who mourn . . to give them the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of
praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV. Listen closely to
your heart; you may hear God laughing and inviting you to laugh with Him.
Life should be – and can be – filled with laughter. Laughter is healing
and contagious, brightening your life as well as the hearts of others. God
loves to fill your days with laughter; share that laughter and brighten the
lives and hopes of others. Solomon wrote, “Being cheerful keeps you
healthy. It is slow death to be gloomy all the time.”Proverbs 17:22 TEV.
See Psalm 126:1-6 NIV.
My prayer for you today is for your laugh
to be of joyous expectation, not disbelief.
Shared by Cathy
Friberg
