Don’t Make Me Laugh

The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the LORD?”

“Make ’em laugh, make ’em laugh,” sings Donald O’Connor in the classic musical Singin’ in the Rain. He romps across sofas, slams into faux brick walls, and dances with the antics of a circus performer. “Don’t you know everyone wants to laugh?”

Even if O’Connor is right that we want to laugh, most of us believe there’s an appropriate and an inappropriate time to let out a guffaw. We consider laughter to be something that we do only when we’re already happy. Laughing in the face of loss, suffering, and tragedy is just wrong. Or is it?

Genesis 18 tells us that Sarah laughs when she hears the divine messenger’s promise of a child. It’s a laugh of wry wistfulness. A sarcastic chuckle. Sarah doesn’t believe there could be something more to her life than sadness. Loss has narrowed her vision. Barrenness, miscarriage, and infertility have told her a single narrative that has come to define her. All she can and should expect is a life of lack. God’s goodness has passed her by.

You may feel like God’s goodness has passed you by too. If you laugh at all anymore, it’s a Sarah kind of laugh, full of heartache. You grieve with her for the happiness that could have been and for the joys that will never be. You can’t imagine a life where laughter could bubble up without sorrow drowning it out.

God understands Sarah’s heart, and he responds with audacious confidence. He sees a world beyond what Sarah can even imagine. “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” God asks, knowing, of course, that a baby is precisely the gift Sarah considers impossible to receive. In that tender yet firm reply, God transforms Sarah’s laughter into something more than a disappointed chuckle. Sarah’s laugh becomes the foretaste of joy that awaits as she trusts in God, her first faltering act of faith.

British playwright Christopher Fry once said, “Comedy is an escape, not from truth but from despair: a narrow escape into faith.” Today, as you walk with God, invite him to break open your heart in this kind of laughter. When you can’t imagine a life beyond your grief, ask God to unveil your eyes to see his goodness. He can bring joy to your lips again.

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!

He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.

A Prayer: God, it’s been a long time since I’ve really laughed. It feels as though death has sucked all the joy out of my life. When I hear your promises, like Sarah, I sometimes sarcastically chuckle in disbelief too. In this season, I find it hard to believe that your goodness will follow me all the days of my life. Nevertheless, I know that you are a good God who is faithful in lovingkindness. Give me new eyes to see your work and renew my heart to trust your promises. Help me today to laugh as an act of faith. Amen.

An Activity for Today: “Laughter has quantifiable positive physiologic benefits,” write researchers Louie, Brook, and Frates.^a Laughter improves mood, lowers blood pressure, and reduces stress. Best of all, you don’t need to have something genuinely hilarious to start a laugh that offers those benefits!

Today, laugh for your health. Google knock-knock jokes and read them aloud. Allow yourself to smile at their entry-level humor. Watch a funny movie or TV show with a friend—one that’s guaranteed to make you chuckle even if it’s through tears. Let your friend’s laughter become contagious and infect you. Finally, if all else fails, fake it. That’s right! Researchers at Georgia State University found that “playful simulated laughter” (the physiological act of laughing) had health benefits even when no humor was attached to the event.^b Sit and giggle for two to four minutes and let laughter bring you hope.

A Song to Encourage Your Heart: “Mourning into Dancing” by Steve Green