I once had a coworker ask the question about whether or not Jesus has a sense of humor. Busy extracting a tooth at the time, I didn’t think too much about it but answered that I couldn’t wait to meet Him in Heaven and find out.
Later, I got to thinking, “Heidi, you know that God has a sense of humor!” And that’s so true. I think one of the coolest things about having a relationship with Jesus is that the more I study the Bible and the more time I spend with Him, the more I get to know the different amazing dimensions that make Jesus who He is.
If you just look at some common stories in the bible you can see traces of His humor. He chose a man with a speech impediment to speak on His behalf before Pharaoh and set the Israelites free. He chose the smallest, youngest, and the one regarded as the least of all Jesse’s sons to be the greatest King that ever ruled over Israel. Also, think about Samson and how he used the jawbone of a donkey to strike down a thousand men! The jawbone of a donkey…now that’s creative! Our God DOES have a sense of humor, but as if the various Bible stories aren’t enough to convince you, then maybe ask Him to show you this side of Him.
I’m not belittling the awesomeness and the almightiness of our God by talking about humor…because He is all-powerful and a God who is to be highly revered. However, I do know that God uses humor to help us, heal us, bring joy to us, and create friendships. He cares about laughter! Proverbs 31:25 talks about the honorable wife and how “she is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.” This laughter is considered a strength, how cool is that!
Today, God made me laugh. I had asked Him to help me be more observant because quite frankly, I’m not. After twenty-five years of schooling (which is 78% of my life BTW), my brain is trained to focus. As a result, I am extremely good at staying on task and staying on point so much so that it has become a fault. So I asked God to help me keep my eyes more open on a broader scope. I was standing at the gas pump and thinking of this and no sooner had I asked to be more observant, then he said, “well, it all starts with just noticing the small things…what’s the brand of that fire extinguisher, what’s the name on the side of that passing truck, who is in your surroundings?” Then I saw a lone gas cap on top of the pump. I never would have seen that in a million years before. I would have focused, pumped my gas, and got out of there. So then after pondering what to do with it while the tank filled up, I decided to bring it inside to the attendant so she could keep it in the lost and found. Awesome, good start to observation greatness!
Then leaving Walmart, I placed all my groceries in the trunk, returned the cart, and went to get into my car and saw a winter hat on the ground to my left. I laughed out loud because here’s the thing….when thinking about learning to be more observant, I was thinking maybe God would teach me by more exiting methods like getting to avoid slipping on a patch of ice, or helping someone out, or stopping some major disaster…maybe I got carried away on that one. But sometimes, it’s the simplest things that become the best trainers. And many times, I can’t help but laugh at myself in comparison to the wisdom of God. In those moments, I truly believe He laughs with me. Not at me, but He laughs along side His creation…me….doing my best to try and grow and figure out life on earth by letting the simplest things teach me. He laughs because He created laughter and it is GOOD! Beth Moore once said that she hopes when she gets the heaven that God thinks she’s funny and that he says to her, “Man, I really got a kick out of you!”. I hope so too because sometimes, I get a kick out of Him!