“Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing…” (Psalm 126:2 KJV)

Even though this year is a year of seriousness and maturation, God doesn’t want us to lose our childlikeness. Children exhibit characteristics that are beneficial to us throughout our adult lives. One of them is laughter.

Most children find it easy to laugh. When they get together with their friends, they start to giggle, run, and rollicking. No one has to teach them to do it; it’s innate. We were all born with the ability to laugh easily and probably did when we were children.

As we took on life and life’s responsibilities, we allowed the cares of this world to dupe us of one of our most precious and fun activities—laughter. God never meant for this to happen. He gave us the gift of laughter to sustain us, to keep us healthy and whole.

Proverbs 17:22 (TPT) exclaims, “A joyful, cheerful heart brings healing to both body and soul. But the one whose heart is crushed struggles with sickness and depression.”

According to the Word of God, many of us are sick and depressed because we don’t engage in the gift of laughter. And science agrees with the Bible.

I read a “Stress Management” article on the Mayo Clinic website that states, “When it comes to relieving stress, more giggles and guffaws are just what the doctor ordered. Here’s why.

Whether you’re guffawing at a sitcom on TV or quietly giggling at a newspaper cartoon, laughing does you good. Laughter is a great form of stress relief, and that’s no joke. A good sense of humor can’t cure all ailments, but data is mounting about the positive things laughter can do. A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn’t just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:

• Stimulate many organs.
• Activate and relieve your stress response.
• Soothe tension.

Laughter isn’t just a quick pick-me-up, though. It’s also good for you over the long term. Laughter may:

• Improve your immune system.
• Relieve pain.
• Increase personal satisfaction.
• Improve your mood.

According to the Mayo Clinic, humor can be learned. Here are some of their suggestions for developing a sense of humor:

• Put humor on your horizon. Find a few simple items, such as photos, greeting cards or comic strips, that make you chuckle. Then hang them up at home or in your office. Keep funny movies, books, magazines or comedy videos on hand for when you need an added humor boost. Look online at joke websites. Go to a comedy club.
• Laugh and the world laughs with you. Find a way to laugh about your own situations and watch your stress begin to fade away. Even if it feels forced at first, practice laughing. It does your body good.
  Share a laugh. Make it a habit to spend time with friends who make you laugh. And then return the favor by sharing funny stories or jokes with those around you.
• Knock, knock. Browse through your local bookstore or library’s selection of joke books and add a few jokes to your list that you can share with friends.
• Know what isn’t funny. Don’t laugh at the expense of others. Some forms of humor aren’t appropriate. Use your best judgment to discern a good joke from a bad or hurtful one.”

Adapted and retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-relief/art-20044456?p=1 (1/5/2021).

We will be in better spirits and health during these unusual and uncertain times if we take our cues from Solomon (Proverbs’ wise writer). So let’s take a dose of laughter every day and come out smelling like a rose!

Lord, thank You for giving us the gift of laughter. I don’t want to waste it; please help me to exercise this precious gift every day. Amen.

Posted by on Wednesday, January 6th, 2021 @ 10:00AM
Categories: Empowering, Encouragement, Inspirational
Tags: Children, Disease, Health, Joyful, Laughter, Sickness, stress