Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy. Psalms 126:2 (ESV)
Did you know that having a good sense of humour is a God-like quality?
God designed us like Him, and let me tell you, God has a great sense of humour! Unfortunately, legalistic religion seems to portray God as a miserable, old, humourless grump. That’s not our God though! After all, if we have a sense of humour, where do you think we got it from? From our Creator, who loves to laugh too! (See Psalm 2.)
I remember my wife Sally telling me about a TV program she liked to watch about a little guy in a wheelchair. He was twelve years old and about four years past his life expectancy based on the disease he had, but what really impacted her was how joyfully he lived. Despite the constant pain and struggles he faced daily, he wrote poetry, laughed, teased, joked and encouraged everybody around him.
You see, humour changes the way we look at things. It doesn’t mean we see everything as funny, but we can develop the ability to laugh and see humour in spite of issues.
Whether we’re in the midst of a short-term crisis or we’re walking out something that may take years, God’s gift to us is His constant presence and joy. He has given us the ability to laugh and find humour in situations, because our source of joy isn’t things or our circumstances. Joy comes from the presence of God within us and from internalizing the Word of God so we can live fully—making our marriages thrive, raising our kids wisely, and excelling in the workplace.
Approaching life with a sense of humour lightens your whole outlook!