IF YOU DON’T LAUGH AT IT, YOU WILL STAY DOWN

Some few months after my mum lost the ability to see physically, she was working in the ministry office (She had resigned from her job as a lecturer). She had the course to step out of her office. Upon returning, she wanted to sit. She forgot to exercise the usual caution of feeling for both arms of the chair to ascertain she was well positioned. She felt just one arm and was confident that she had gotten to her chair. She sat down and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

The associate working in the next office, (Pastor Tunde) heard a loud fall and was deeply concerned about her state. He ran to her door but could not step in. Why? All he was hearing was a burst of loud laughter and praying out loud in tongues. He was confused and turned back. He concluded that she was simply having fun in the Holy Ghost.

Mum said, “A lot went through my mind at that moment but I knew if I would get back on my feet, I would have to laugh at the devil”.

Think about it- you have lost your sight! You have “lost” your job and now you are falling in your personal space. It was a great opportunity to call for a pity party. It was a great time to sound sorrowful but she refused to lose the only thing that could get her back on her feet- Her Joy!

No matter what the devil steals, do not let him steal your joy. Once joy is lost, everything is lost. If anything will die, joy is the first thing that the devil will attack.

Prophet Joel gave an image of a farmer who lost all. His entire agricultural investment collapsed. The prophet did not blame economic policies or global meltdown, the prophet diagnosed something different:

The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

Joel 1:12 KJV

Inspiration, creativity, drive, and passion die the moment your joy is lost. Joy is like a fetcher while salvation is like a well (Isaiah 12:3). If your joy is stolen, you will not be able to draw anything from the well of salvation. The devil is a “joy-thief”!

Prophet Habakkuk spoke about another farmer who went through the same thing but he refused to lose his joy. The farmer returned from the downturn walking upon his high places with renewed strength:

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; The labour of the olive shall fail, And the fields shall yield no meat; The flock shall be cut off from the fold, And there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, And he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, And he will make me to walk upon mine high places.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 KJV

One stream that flows from a joyful heart is laughter. Laughter kills fear in your heart- the type that flows from an understanding that the God you serve is laughing with you in the heavens (Psalms 2:4)

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You shall laugh at destruction and famine, And you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

 Job 5:22 NKJV

Look at that depressing situation now and laugh it to scorn. Look at that mess now and laugh at it. Look at that business and laugh again.

If it looks like an attack, look at this story: The nation of Israel was under siege. Hezekiah prayed and a prophetic word came.

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: “The virgin, the daughter of Zion, Has despised you, laughed you to scorn; The daughter of Jerusalem Has shaken her head behind your back!

 Isaiah 37:21-22 NKJV

The first thing heaven deployed was laughter. That was the end of the siege. Please, laugh at it. Shake your head at that siege.

Listen! if you can laugh at it, you will get back on your feet. Mum got back on her after she “lost” a job, and now she is an employer of labour paying more than 30 people. She is still serving the Lord with joy!

Friend! Laugh. Do not let the devil steal your joy.

temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa.