I had been in bed when my dog just woke me up to go outside. I then sat down to watch a few minutes of TBN and was listening to this couple talk about how important humor is in a marriage. They said that they dealt with an issue the previous week that was so bad that they just had to laugh.
Would it not suffice to say that someone who is joy-filled also chooses laughter?
So could you then say that those who laugh, not as a defense mechanism, but in truly making light of circumstances...that they are stronger. Imagine the person who is tense, brittle, resentful, angry, worried, stressed...who is more flexible? The person who laughs or who worries? Imagine how much more susceptible the tense person is to breaking under the pressure of an overwhelming situation?
So if a couple whose joy is in the Lord and He strengthens them...that would also mean that they are in agreement.
What is stronger? Two people who agree or two people who disagree?
Much like forgiveness, laughter isn't denying that something bad happened to you and it's not excusing it. It is saying that that attitude of your heart is focused on the Lord and He lifts you above your ever changing circumstances. His joy is to be experience no matter what you are going through. For there is joy in the Lord because HE is never changing, always consistent and your strength comes from Him. So when we laugh and are joyful, it's not that we don't have tough times, we have resilience through our joy that helps us to endure them more effectively.
Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."This couple on TBN discussed how they had met a another couple recently where one spouse didn't have a sense of humor but the other did. They commented on how they didn't know how that couple managed without humor. The joy of the Lord is your strength.
Nehemiah 8:10 NIV
The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. Psalms 19:8 NIV
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." Psalms 126:2 NIV
...and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 35:10 NIV
Would it not suffice to say that someone who is joy-filled also chooses laughter?
So could you then say that those who laugh, not as a defense mechanism, but in truly making light of circumstances...that they are stronger. Imagine the person who is tense, brittle, resentful, angry, worried, stressed...who is more flexible? The person who laughs or who worries? Imagine how much more susceptible the tense person is to breaking under the pressure of an overwhelming situation?
So if a couple whose joy is in the Lord and He strengthens them...that would also mean that they are in agreement.
What is stronger? Two people who agree or two people who disagree?
- For a piece of concrete to solidify appropriately, its components need to agree, do they not?
- Which work together better a nail and a piece of wood or a nail and a rock?
- How about the cells that make up our body?
- You know that skin is not a solid thing...it is made up of billions of cells "sticking" together to make up the protective barrier for your organs and lifegiving fluids. So if your cells don't agree, well, your body is not going to fall apart...
- How about two tires on the axle of a car? They go the same speed keeping them balanced and functioning, but what if a tire comes off, or the bearings go out and one doesn't spin as willingly as the other and falls behind? How does that affect the cars' performance?
Agreement creates a bond, a balance and a strength that endures and keeps things running efficiently, whether in chemical components, in mechanical parts or in our relationships.
Laughter is a way to agree.
Much like forgiveness, laughter isn't denying that something bad happened to you and it's not excusing it. It is saying that that attitude of your heart is focused on the Lord and He lifts you above your ever changing circumstances. His joy is to be experience no matter what you are going through. For there is joy in the Lord because HE is never changing, always consistent and your strength comes from Him. So when we laugh and are joyful, it's not that we don't have tough times, we have resilience through our joy that helps us to endure them more effectively.
Lord thank you for laughter and the healing power that it holds. Laughter can slice through tension like a hot knife through butter. Laughter releases tension, it gives people a shared joy for it is contagious...and it MUST be from you, because I certainly don't see Satan as being the author of something so wonderful. Thank you, Lord.
~Amen
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