I enjoy laughter. In fact, I find myself spending a great deal of time laughing. I believe laughter is one of God’s great gifts. We all should do a better job of bringing laughter into our lives. However, just as laughter can be a good thing, it also can be a bad thing. For example, have you ever laughed at an inappropriate time?

One of the inappropriate times for us to laugh is in response to God and His promises. Perhaps we have never truly laughed out loud at God, but we have probably laughed to ourselves at the thought of some of the very promises God has made.

This was an area where Abram struggled. God promised Abram he would have a son (Gen. 15:1-6). Unfortunately, he and his wife Sarai apparently got tired of waiting on God and decided to take matters into their own hands. Sarai gave Abram her servant, Hagar, and he slept with her and she conceived and bore him a son (Gen. 16:1-6).

Just when Abraham was probably feeling good about having a son, God tells him Ishmael, the son of Hagar, was not the son of promise. Instead, God was going to bless Abraham and Sarah with their very own son. Here’s the problem: instead of being excited, Abraham fell on his face and laughed at God. He thought he and Sarah were too old to have children (Gen. 17:16-17). Sadly, Sarah responded in the same way (Gen. 18:9-15).

Can you imagine laughing at God? We may not be able to imagine it, but we all have done it. When we read the promises God has made to us in His word, do we have faith that God will bring those promises to pass? If we don’t, then we are laughing at God and His promises. When we fail to believe what God says, we in essence are laughing at what God says.

Abraham and Sarah laughed at God because they doubted. The promise He made seemed illogical. Let’s not make the same mistake as Abraham and Sarah. Friends, always remember, “we walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

Now that’s Something to Think About!