When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad. (Psalm 126:1-3 ESV)
Fear Not… Then Laugh
Once, when I was in Middle School, I found myself facing a group of hostile teenagers. They outnumbered me, and by the look of them, they knew how to handle themselves in a fight better than I could hope.
I thought I had a group of my friends behind me. So when I said, “WE will make you move out of our way!” The others just smiled.
I turned around and realized my predicament. I was terrified.
So I laughed. A weak, timid, embarrassed sort of laugh.
And ran.
But that is not the kind of laughter that the Psalmist presents. I laughed in desperation and fear. I laughed to distract them. I laughed because I could not think of anything else to do.
But the Psalmist laughs because he (and all of Zion) realized that God had done great things. He (and all of Zion) realized that God had turned their sorrow into joy. He (and all of Zion) realized that their fears had been bathed, drowned, and destroyed by God’s goodness.
When our trust outweighs our fear, we can laugh like that. When our faith outweighs our fear, we can laugh like that. When our hope outweighs our fear, we can laugh like that. When our awareness of the incredible love of our God outweighs our fear, we can laugh like that.
When we stop being afraid, laughter has room to take root.
Now what? Laugh!