Friday, December 08, 2006

The Laughter of Faith

"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

I've been thinking a lot about laughter lately - and how the way in which we laugh reflects the posture of our hearts before God.

Take the Old Testament character of Sarah, for example. Three messengers of the Lord appear to tell her and her husband Abraham that they will finally have the child God promised, even though they are "old, advanced in years." And in her tent, Sarah laughs, saying to herself, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" This is the laugh of bitterness, a laugh that defies God's promise, a laugh that refuses to trust in His goodness. It is fearful, sarcastic, guarded.

I am good at this kind of laughing, at recognizing the futility of things, laughing at hopelessness. I am good at being sarcastic. Like Sarah, I struggle to trust.

But there's hope. Because just two chapters later in Genesis, Sarah has discovered another kind of laughter. Holding her baby boy in her arms, having realized God's promised goodness in the warmth of his small body pressed against her bosom, she says, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me." This is the laughter of faith, the laughter that wells up from a deep place in the soul of she who has tasted and seen that Lord is good. In spite of years of unfulfilled desires, in spite of continued hardship and an uncertain future, she laughs, tinkling peals of joy ringing out for all to hear. It is a laugh that is certain and real. It is a laugh that worships a real and good and sovereign God.

This is the kind of laugh I want, that of the Proverbs 31 woman who can laugh "at the days to come," even days that are uncertain, even days that promise pain and hardship. But I am aware that I cannot produce this laughter on my own. Like Sarah, I need God to show up and "make laughter for me." I need God to teach me how to trust Him.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Abby,
Extremely well written and theologically insightful. Thanks for clarifying for me something that has bugged me a while and that is the distinction between the laughter concerning Isaac before his birth and the laughter following. To God be all the glory.

Joel

Anonymous said...

Abby,

That's a cool post. I've got a verse for ya, Psalm 33:21. This one has been on my mind for a while as I've been thinking about how trust, hope, and joy relate, pertaining to God's presence in our lives.

brad

steph-a-ninnie said...

Abby, wow, this is great...and so applicable to where we have been and probably will continue to live. A deep, real, certainly not easy place, but a good and honest place. I'm glad we get to go there together. I love you.

~Steph

Anonymous said...

Hey,

I mostly visits this website[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url]redeemingthemes.blogspot.com is filled with quality info. Frankly speaking we really do not pay attention towards our health. Here is a fact for you. Research shows that about 50% of all U.S. adults are either obese or weighty[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url] Hence if you're one of these citizens, you're not alone. In fact, most of us need to lose a few pounds once in a while to get sexy and perfect six pack abs. Now next question is how you can achive quick weight loss? You can easily lose with with little effort. If you improve some of your daily diet habbits then, its like piece of cake to quickly lose weight.

About me: I am blogger of [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips]Quick weight loss tips[/url]. I am also mentor who can help you lose weight quickly. If you do not want to go under painful training program than you may also try [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/acai-berry-for-quick-weight-loss]Acai Berry[/url] or [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/colon-cleanse-for-weight-loss]Colon Cleansing[/url] for fast weight loss.

Anonymous said...

Homeopathic medication may be a all-natural type of therapeutic!
[url=http://www.homeopathicdoctors.org/]homeopathy for dogs[/url]

Anonymous said...

Homeopathic medicine is actually a pure kind of healing!
[url=http://www.homeopathicdoctors.org/]homeopathy for dogs[/url]