Last week I wrote about the Power of Joy to teach all of us about the power we release when we laugh in the face of negative circumstances. You can read that article here. My premise was how the joy of the Lord will strengthen us when we get weary in faith during prolonged seasons of waiting to receive one of God’s promises. While I initially thought I was done ministering on that topic, the Lord showed me some powerful things over the last few days that I want to share with you because I believe they will give you strength to believe when you go through a prolonged fight of faith.
Look at Hebrews 11:11:
11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.
This passage says Sarah received strength to conceive. Why did Sarah need strength to conceive? Because she and her husband had waited 25 years for a child God promised them (see Genesis 15:5). Sarah and Abraham were already old when God made the promise. He was 75 and she was 65. Imagine waiting another 25 years. Do you think it might seem impossible? Do you think you might get discouraged? Do you think you might grow too weary to continue to believe?
If so you aren’t alone. Most of us would feel that way too. This is why Galatians 6:9 says:
9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
One of the most natural things to do when going through prolonged seasons of waiting for a harvest of promises is to grow weary. This is why God tells us to do something supernatural, which is to not grow weary. This is not something we do through our great willpower, it’s something we do with the supernatural strength of God. There are a multitude of ways we can strengthen ourselves in the Lord and not grow weary, but the one I want to highlight in this article may shock you. One of the most supernatural things we can do to strengthen ourselves in the Lord is to laugh!
You read that right! Sometimes we just need to laugh because Nehemiah 8:10 says the joy of the Lord is our strength. The supernatural laughter of God brings strength when we are tempted to grow weary. Look at Genesis 17:
15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”
Now look at Genesis 18:
10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
(Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
When we study these verses we see that both Abraham and Sarah laughed prior to Isaac’s conception. Both of these occurrences happened after supernatural encounters with God.
You may be thinking they both laughed out of shock and weren’t really in faith because after they laughed both of them made statements that questioned God’s promise. I don’t dispute that, however, we know from Romans 4 and Hebrews 11 that both were in faith when Isaac was born.
This means even if they made statements of unbelief after they laughed, they didn’t stay in unbelief. I think most probably what happened is they were shocked by the supernatural encounter with God and the promise He uttered. As they laughed, God washed the unbelief out of them, which is why they both made statements that sounded like, “How can this be?” These statements were the unbelief coming out so faith could once again enter their hearts. Laughter helped them relax so they could eventually believe.
Modern science confirms laughter helps with stress reduction. Laughter helps us walk in faith because many times we put so much pressure on ourselves to believe that we tighten up and get tense. Tension makes it hard to use our faith muscle properly!
Think about it, when athletes get in pressure packed situations they often tighten up and don’t perform properly. This is why Joe Montana asked his teammates, “Is that John Candy in the stands” right before he led them on a 92 yard game winning touchdown drive in Super Bowl XXIII. He was trying to break the tension by making them laugh so they could relax and perform.
This was the effect God’s encounters with Abraham and Sarah had on them. They came away laughing, which gave them strength to believe. The next time you are going through a hard season and you find yourself faltering in your faith, I’d encourage you to laugh. Watch something funny or go be around someone with a great sense of humor. Do you whatever you have to do. Even if it feels forced at first, trust the process. That’s ok. Sometimes you have to prime the pump. As you make the choice to rejoice and laugh by faith, it will become supernaturally natural. This will strengthen you to believe once again!
