Pastor Joe Robbe | Portland Mount Hope Church
My wife is amazing! She has this wonderful ability to laugh, even in the midst of physical pain or emotional heartache. I don’t know about you, but pain of any kind, tends to suck the joy of life out of me. Nothing is funny when I hurt.
At times life can be funny and other times it can be very sobering. The ability to laugh in the midst of challenge and heartache will go a long way to help you enjoy life.
Proverbs 17:22 tells us that:
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”
Why is it that hardships make some people bitter and others better? I believe it has a lot to do with how we choose to live and view life. Life is vast and we can find in it what we are looking for. We can find love or hate, good or bad, funny or sober. It’s all out there; it’s just what we choose to focus on.
I am a news junkie but found that if I watch too much, it can have a negative, sobering effect on me. I think it is important to stay informed but not to the extent that it colors the lens in which I view life. Periodically, I have to adjust my lens to look for the funny and humorous to offset the sobering and painful. Funny is out there to be found.
My office is a few blocks from a grade school. I love to have my window open and listen to the joy and laughter of children on the playground. It’s a good lens adjuster. I am convinced that God loves it when we laugh and enjoy life; just as we love it when we see our kids and grandkids laugh and enjoy life.
There are two things we can do to maximize joy and laughter in our own life. The first thing is to give our problems and pain to the Lord (Phil. 4:6-7, Matthew 11:28-30). We have an awesome God to turn to when life hurts. Make God your first option not your last resort.
The second thing we can do is live a life of integrity before God. Often times the problems and heartaches people face are self-inflicted. Integrity (godliness) will help to minimize the problems and maximize the joys that life has to offer. Job 8:20-21 tells us that: “Lo, God will not reject a man of integrity, nor will He support the evildoers. He will fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.” That’s a promise worth grabbing hold of!
I challenge you this week to adjust your lens to see the “funny” in life. A good way to prime the pump is to watch Pharrell Williams’ music video “Happy”. Happiness truly is a choice! Go ahead! Give yourself permission to cut loose and laugh. Don’t stop until your belly hurts! Your problems will seem smaller and your capacity to enjoy life will become larger. Life is good! Now go enjoy it!
Enjoy your journey! (Really!!)
PJ
