Have you ever laughed so hard you couldn’t stop? Brings a smile to your face, doesn’t it? All those times you have laughed loud and long, or just giggled quietly, or anything and everything in between. Laughter feels so good. There’s something freeing, joyful and wonderful about it, and sometimes when time goes by and you haven’t laughed, you wonder why not? It. Just. Feels. Good!
I wonder about God. Does He laugh? Scripture doesn’t have a lot to say about God laughing or even people in the Bible laughing, but I found a blog post which may help with this idea: How can we be certain God has a sense of humor?
- We are made in His image, so surely laughter began with Him.
- God promises, “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter…” (Job 8:21).
- He uses humor in our lives in dozens of beneficial ways.
By His design, laughter dissolves stress, relieves anger, eases disappointment, lowers blood pressure, mends relationships. And that’s just the short list. Ask medical professionals, and they’ll tell you: when a patient begins to regain her sense of humor, it’s a sign of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing at work. Just as God’s Word tells us, “A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22).
His Word tells us, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs” (Psalm 2:4). Sounds promising, until we read the rest of the verse: “the Lord scoffs at them.” Specifically, He laughs at earthly rulers who stand against Him and His anointed. Naturally, God doesn’t find disobedience funny at all, so His derisive laughter here is meant to humble. Though the Hebrew word sachaq usually means “laughter, merrymaking, rejoicing,” it also can be translated “mocking, scorning.” A snicker. A harrumph. A snort.
Ah, but when God laughs over the people He loves, the sound is as gentle as His embrace. We may not hear His laughter, but we can sense His pleasure. We won’t find LOL in His Word, but we do find the promise, “so will your God rejoice over you” (Isaiah 62:5).
So you can imagine with me the Holy One, enthroned in heaven, ever righteous and powerful, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Lord of Lords and King of Kings. And when the situation is right, He is filled with joyful laughter, filling the heavens and spilling over and filling our souls with happiness and peace. I am so happy to serve our God!