Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…”

Laughter in our lives helps take away from all the hurts we face from day to day. If we focus on the negative all the time we can end up feeling distressed and depressed.

Our Lord intended for us to have joy in our lives. Does that mean we should never be unhappy? Absolutely not. Satan wants to make our lives as miserable as he can, and our human nature helps him along by focusing on the misery.  Nehemiah 8:10 “…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Our joy should not be focused on our surrounding circumstances, but on the Lord. Not one of us is exempt from pain and hurtful situations. The key to success is how do we deal with these situations. If we look hard enough we can find something positive to dwell on. No matter what our circumstances it could always be worse.

Ecclesiates 3:1&4 “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to weep, and a time to “LAUGH”; a time to mourn and a time to dance;” Too many times we take ourselves too seriously. I have been very guilty of that. I felt I was made fun of all my life and made to feel I could never measure up to others standards so I did everything in my power never to allow anyone see me “mess up.” I certainly did not want anyone to laugh at me and I never laughed at myself. How horrid that would be. I just knew that if someone laughed at me I would die. Instead of my focus being on God it was on me, and how I would be hurt. I have been made in the image of God, and I am a child of the King! I am not my own, I have been bought with a price, I have been set apart for God’s work so why focus on the here and now?

An elderly Polish lady I used to work with taught me a very important lesson on laughter. Every time she would mess up or do something silly, she would call all of us over to look at whatever had taken place, and we would all laugh with her over whatever it was. I began to realize what was happening. We were not laughing at her, but we were laughing with her. Laughter was her greatest tool. Did she have problems and hurt in her life. Yes she did, but her focus was not on the pain, but on her Lord. She loved the Lord and wanted to serve Him. Her greatest service to Him, in my life, was to help me learn to laugh.

I am sure you have heard the term “lighten up.” Well that is some very good advice. If we take everything so seriously we will burn out. We are to be the light of the world, and a world without laughter is a very dark place indeed.

Worry makes us unhappy besides being a sin. Worry shows lack of faith in God and His ability to control any situation. Psalm 30:5…”weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Because of God we can face tomorrow. Any darts that old devil can throw at us are dimmed by joy and laughter. Things can get pretty scary, but if we keep our focus on the Lord realizing He has a purpose and His way is best things have a way of not looking so hopeless.

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