Laughing Matters
Theme of the Week: Bedrock Joy
Phil Callaway
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
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Key Bible Verse: Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! (Philippians 4:4) Bonus Reading:Habakkuk 3:17–19
My wife's sister Miriam suffers from Hunt-ington's disease, a rare genetic disorder. Her doctors are amazed at how slowly this awful disease is growing in her body. "Miriam's attitude," one of them told her husband, Jim, "has reduced the symptoms by 50 percent." A baffled psychologist told them, "It seems your belief in a higher power has helped you." Miriam laughed. "That would be God," she said.
Though their world seems to be falling apart, they know they are loved by God, held in His arms, and promised the eternal joys of heaven. On Miriam's fridge are these words: "In the world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." Below is this: "Lord, if you can't make me thin, make my friends look fat!"
As a humorist, I speak to thousands each year. Many are groups of Christians, some are not. Lately it hit me that Christians laugh harder. Perhaps the world laughs to forget, but Christians laugh because we remember that the most serious issues were dealt with at the cross. Death was swallowed up. Eternity was prom-ised. A holy God loves the likes of me! Surely this is the greatest punch line in all of history.
–Phil Callaway in Alberta
My Response: Do I laugh to forget or to savor my delight in God and his creation?
Thought to Apply: Life need not be easy to be joyful. Joy is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ.
—William Vander Hoven (pastor)
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Lord, help me pursue passing pleasures less and relish the enduring joy of Your presence more.
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