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Laughter
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Laughter
I walked into Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth Texas and the first thing I noticed was laughter. We were a little late for worship and people were laughing as we walked in.
Since I was pretty sure they were not laughing at me, I knew this was a church that knew how to laugh.
The laughter continued in Sunday School. People felt free to joke and tease each other. They felt free to reward the jokes with their laughter.
They sang with joy.
When the pastor began to read the Bible, everyone enthusiastically opened their Bible. There were the beautiful sounds of fluttering as people turned the pages of their Bibles.
In between the services, I walked outside. I noticed what looked like a flagpole and walked over.
I was looking at a memorial. There are pictures of this memorial on the website under Texas, Wedgwood Baptist Church.
In 1999, a very disturbed man broke into a youth prayer rally, killing seven of the young worshipers. The memorial was to the people who had died in that worship service.
I vaguely remembered the incident and was in awe at the joy I had witnessed during their worship. God had truly turned their “wailing into dancing.”
I visited St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Wichita Kansas. The priest started the worship with a series of jokes. His congregation laughed with their entire hearts. His jokes were cute and his congregation was generous with their laughter. They knew how to laugh.
On the wall, there were pictures of the tornado that completely leveled this church 11 years ago. Today they worship in a beautiful facility. There are pictures on the website.
I spent several days with my cousins in Kansas. We have laughed and cried as we told family stories. I was struck by how easily they gift each other with their laughter.
They have had many losses in their lives. Their brother died of cystic fibrosis at age 11. Their beautiful sister died of cancer at age 34. She left two small children. They have lost both their mother and their father at an age that was younger than expected.
How have these institutions and people learned how to laugh with such abandonment after experiencing such tragedy and sadness?
The answer is the same in all cases. They depended on God and God’s people.
The people of Wedgwood leaned on each other and prayed. God turned their grief to joy. What a witness they are to the world.
St. Vincent de Paul built a new church. They kept a positive attitude. They had wanted a new church but did not have the money to tear down the old church. They chose to look at this tragedy as God’s answer to prayer.
My cousins said their faith had been the one constant throughout their lives. That faith made them able to appreciate the many gifts they still had. These sisters love each other. They share each other’s lives. They enjoy their children and grandchildren. They are grateful to people like my parents who have been at every major event in their lives. They love and are loved.
In all cases, God filled their hearts with a greater joy than anything their earthly desires could have ever given them. They sleep with the sleep of peace and know they dwell in safety.
Psalms 4:7-8
You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.
I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
(from New International Version)
I have met so many people and churches that have forgotten how to laugh. Some never learned how to laugh. Some used to laugh until life stopped their laughter. Their pain and sadness are etched in their faces.
Life is difficult for everyone. We all face problems. You have only to read the book of Job to see the problems we face in this life.
Job 6:10-18
Then I would still have this consolation- my joy in unrelenting pain-
that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.
What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
What prospects, that I should be patient?
Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze?
Do I have any power to help myself, Now that success has been driven from me?
A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow
when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow, but that cease to flow in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels.
Caravans turn aside from their routes;
they go up into the wasteland and perish.
(from New International Version)
Our Savior had a very difficult life. He was born in a stable and his parents had to flea to save him.
His earthly parents questioned his motives when he was following God’s leadership and visiting the temple. His mother tried to tell him what to do when she wanted wine at a wedding. His brothers did not support his life’s calling.
A close friend and confidant betrayed him. People he loved dearly did not trust him.
People he loved died.
He grew exhausted as his work became demanding. People constantly criticized his life’s work.
Satan tried to temp him.
He was rejected first by his hometown and eventually by the world.
Do any of these problems sound familiar? They are the ones we all face. Friends and family betray us or let us down. We lose loved ones. Our work demands our time and is often thankless. We are tempted by Satan and rejected by people.
If Jesus faced these trials, how can we expect any different? Jesus overcame all that he faced and conquered death for all believers. His love enabled us to overcome all that we face.
Read the prayer of Jesus as He talked with God about what He was facing. He thanked God for the glory God had given him and He gives this same glory to us. He prayed for us while he faced his pain. His joy is available to us.
John 17:13-24
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.”
(from New International Version)
When things go wrong, we have two choices.
We can take the world’s way.
The world’s way is to give in to grief and self-pity. We can talk about it for the rest of our life and wallow in it. The lines in our faces grow deeper as we take on the look of someone that has spent years under stress and is bitter.
Misery marks our ways. Our attitude and outlook becomes a testimony to the damning effects of the way of the world.
Rom 3:14-18
Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.
(from New International Version)
We can also choose God’s way.
God’s way is to wear the world as a loose garment. We can accept and expect difficulties and know that with God’s love, we can laugh through our tears.
We also grieve but our grief turns to joy. We talk about our grief, but we allow God and God’s people to help us heal.
Our faces take on the look of pure joy. Our healing becomes a testimony to the magnificent power of God. We learn to love God with our entire hearts as he heals our tumultuous emotions.
John 16:20-24
I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.
(from New International Version)
If given the choice, we would all choose to not face hardship. That choice is not ours. Jesus faced hardship and we will as well. Our choice has to do with our suffering.
If you are in pain today, start with asking yourself the following question: Do you want to get well? If the answer is yes, start the process for giving it to God.
John 5:6
When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?
(from New International Version)
Admit that alone, you are powerless to stop suffering. Ask God to help you learn to love Him with your entire heart. Ask Him to help you in your unbelief.
Mark 9:24
Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
(from New International Version)
Begin a regular Bible Study and time with God. Do it early in the morning. Healing cannot come without fellowship with God. Fellowship only comes with a daily commitment. Jesus had to pray and so do we.
Mark 1:35
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
(from New International Version)
Talk to someone about it and ask them to pray for you, support you, and hold you accountable. Get your hearts refreshed by the hearts of the saints.
Philemon 7
Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
(from New International Version)
Get professional help if you need it.
Confess and make amends for any suffering you have caused because of your pain. Confess to God, yourself, and to another human being.
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
(from New International Version)
Count your blessings and choose life and love. Enjoy the laughter that enters your life. Seek this joyous laughter. Give it freely. Laugh with abandonment. Thank God that He is sufficient for everything you face.
Let him fill your mouth with laughter, turn your wailing into dancing , and clothe you with joy.
Job 8:21
He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
(from New International Version)
Psalms 30:11-12
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
(from New International Version)
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