This Always Makes Me Laugh

There are laughs, and then - there are Laughs! 

There is the kind of laugh that starts somewhere deep inside and just comes spilling out - overflowing with joy. This is my favorite scene from the movie, Mary Poppins;

http://youtu.be/pOMqqI-kzHY

There are other kinds of laughs. Laughs that are not so funny. Laughs of derision, and disbelief. Laughs that are really saying, "Yea, riiiiight." 

“Where is your wife Sarah?” they asked him.

“There, in the tent,” he said.

Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.”

Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?”

Then 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? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, “I did not laugh.”

But he said, “Yes, you did laugh.” Genesis 18:9-15

Sarah could have laughed with glee. Instead she laughed in disbelief. (I get a kick out of the discussion between Sarah and the Heavenly visitor. "You laughed." "Did not." "Did too!")

God wants us to believe that He has wonderful things for us, but sometimes the accumulation of disappointments create a cloud of dispair that prevents us from receiving His gifts with joyful hearts. 

When you read the Scripture about God's good gifts, do you laugh in disbelief, like Sarah? Do you think to yourself, "That's fine for other people, but it sure hasn't worked out that way for me!" Have you gotten tired and cynical after years of believing for something and not seeing it come to pass?

Take a lesson from Sarah.

God is true to His word - even when we don't believe.

Now, throw your head back and laugh - that, from-the-tip-of-your-toes kind of laugh. A believing kind of laugh. The answer to your prayers is on its way!