The Joy of the Lord

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. — Proverbs 17:22 NASB

As we all know, April begins with “April Fool’s Day.” I have no idea where this “holiday” started. It does, however, speak to our need to have some fun, laugh, joke, and show our joyful hearts. I remember the old cliché that I have heard many preachers use: they talked about people who looked like they had been baptized in dill pickle juice. In other words, despite having been baptized into Christ, they exhibit no joy in their lives. I, too, have seen people who look that way.

I remember preaching a revival years ago. I was asked to come back the next year and speak again. However, the invitation was withdrawn when one of the leaders said he did not want me back because I had joked and caused laughter. He didn’t think that a church service was a place for laughter.

Apparently, this man didn’t know much about me when I was invited in the first place. I will say that if anyone can be wrong, this gentleman was wrong. There is every reason laughter should be heard in the assembly of the saints.

If anyone has the right to laugh, we do. God did not create us to only work, struggle, and endure. He created us to rejoice and to be filled with His joy. Laughter is the sound of joy.

God knew what He was doing when He created laughter. Ecclesiastes 3:4 says, “There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance.”  One writer, whose name I don’t remember, said, “Through laughter we turn fear into faith, pain into praise, and waiting into wonder.”

We all have problems and heartaches. Satan wants us burdened by fear, discouragement, stress, and disappointment. We need to understand that just a small laugh shows Satan and the world that sorrow does not steal our joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 says, “Then he said to them, ‘Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (NASB used throughout).

Nehemiah must have never talked to my doctors. They are always telling me not to eat fat. Nehemiah says, in this day of joy, let’s eat fat. This was a holy day. The joy of the Lord was their strength.

Joy and laughter are a testimony that even when we experience pain and sorrow, we can rejoice and laugh together because we are drawing our strength from the Lord. Our hope is not tied to anything in this world. Our hope is in God our Father, who rules over the world and all that it can throw at His children.

I believe that Jesus was full of joy and that, at times, He expressed that joy with laughter. Remember, He called the little children to Himself. Who can be around children long and not have a laugh or two? Every grandparent has at least a million things that their grandchildren have said that made them laugh.

Laughter heals. Science tells us that laughter reduces stress, strengthens the heart, and releases a healing chemical in our brains. Solomon told us in the Scripture quoted at the opening line of my article that, “A joyful heart is good medicine.” Furthermore, Jesus addresses those who are suffering by preaching to them, “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Luke 6:21).

Before I close, I want you to know that I understand sorrow. I have known physical and emotional pain. I have wept over the loss of loved ones. I have wept at the loss of many friends. If I live longer, I will weep due to other things. However, with the help of the Holy Spirit and God’s people, I will not lose my joy, and I will laugh anytime I can.

In preparation for this article, I wrote something in my notes. I don’t remember where I copied it from, but I like what it says: “Some wounds don’t need joy; they need release. They need laughter.”

Before I close, for your amusement and enjoyment, here is my favorite joke. Are you ready?

What did the town bully have written on his tombstone? …

What are you looking at?

Let the world see your joy, hear your laughter, and let them see the hope in you that only Jesus can give.

Tony Sullivan is the Evangelist with the Lester Road Christian Church in Fairburn, GA. He is also an Associate Evangelist with the CRA. He can be reached by email: Tonycra@att.net.

A tranquil heart is life to the body, but passion is rottenness to the bones. — Proverbs 14:30 NASB

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. — Proverbs 17:22 NASB

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4 NASB