What we can find through any Bible concordance is this – God laughs at His enemies. This, of course, is not funny but rather enlarges the truth that any nation or people that rise up against an almighty God are so foolhardy in doing so that it is truly laughable.
“The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One…The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them.” (Psalm 2:2-4)
The Word of God declares here, and elsewhere, that man’s efforts to thwart God’s plans, escape His laws and judgments, are futile and vain. Meditating on this truth will draw us further into a reverent fear and awe of God.
Not explicit in the Bible however is this: Does God have a sense of humor? Is there ever a chuckle in a holy and awesome God? I myself have sensed the laughter of the Lord on few occasions, most recently last week in my kitchen, as I stirred a gallon paint with chopsticks….
After 30 years, our tiny old kitchen, 12’x 8’, finally got the rehab it cried for. I had no idea that beautiful granite, custom cabinets, and new fixtures could give me such pleasure! Backsplash, ceramic tiles and accents all enhanced a wonderful color scheme. However at the last touch the creative flow truly ran amuck…
“…the kitchen came out great!” I shared, “the only task left is choosing a color for the walls.”
My co-worker shared her design secret, “Look at the granite and choose a color from it that will ‘pop out’ on the walls!”
‘Pop out’ sounded good. Looking closely at the granite counter I could see sparse dots of blue. “That’s it! Blue it is!” With that contrast of color, I imagined my kitchen could impress as a sky with a rising or setting sun…
“Are you sure that’s the color you want?” asked the contractor when ordering the paint.
“Yes, it is” I confirmed. Obviously, I thought, contractors know little about ‘popping colors’.
When I arrived home to view my ‘sun rising kitchen’ I saw, in less than a second, that it was the worst color combination known to mankind. All the pleasure of the kitchen was lost – I could hardly cook. Immediate change was needed – pale yellow and fast.
Pale yellow worked well until a leak caused some damage to the ceiling and wall. After repair, repainting was required. Well, I figured, if pale yellow worked so well, let’s go bolder!
Paint job #3, ‘bolder yellow’, proved a mistake. It overpowered the whole room. I will repaint the kitchen myself, I concluded, to make this right. ‘Tangerine Mist’ was recommended by a reliable source and I believed it – until I painted it. At the first strokes my heart sank but I went into denial, “…this will look good once the whole kitchen is painted”. Ha-ha. No more sun-setting color popping bold kitchen – back to palest yellow as soon as possible.
I opened the can, color #5 and stirred with chopsticks…. “Hmm. Actually,” I thought, “this doesn’t look like pale yellow. Why does this look florescent? No, it can’t be,” I decided, back in denial, “it will look good once it gets on the walls….” While brushing and rolling I convinced myself it would look better once it dries. After one wall I stood and stared at a yellow color that seemed to shout, “Stop! Go no further!” Now bewildered, “How can this be? How could one room be painted five times?” It was not at all funny until later that night – it was hilarious.
Was God amused? What does He – who created humor – laugh at? While stirring and gazing into that paint can, claiming ‘no, this is not possible’, I sensed the chuckle of God. It might have been a hearty laugh when I stood back, with brush in hand, lamenting, “Oh no. This even makes Tangerine Mist look good.”
Indeed the Lord holds a serious singular focus – declared from Genesis to Revelation – to reconcile and restore man unto Himself for eternity. He opens His heart to the one surrendered, sharing from the depths of His passions – His grief, His anger, His love and mercy. He speaks to our heart and speaks through His Word, renewing our mind and refreshing our soul. Could laughter be one of His healing balms? In those unexpected moments when we are surprised by humor, it may well be God laughing and inviting us in – to lift our heart, to change our view and move us forward.
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