stephen R Harrison

JOY 365: Day 10

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. -Proverbs 17:22

Tonight, we laughed a lot with some friends. We attended a birthday party of one of our son’s friends and spent time talking with all the parents (we all go to church together). We had so much fun! We told some funny stories, laughed at some silly jokes I told while preaching, and had a genuinely good time. I think we smiled most of the night, so much that my cheeks hurt when we got home. I didn’t expect to laugh that much, but I’m glad we did. It had been a hard couple of weeks with a couple of funerals, heavy counseling, and a busy schedule. There is joy in spending time with friends with no agenda but enjoying one another’s company. We had considered dropping off our son and then coming back to pick him up. I’m so glad we stayed.

Proverbs 17:22 says a cheerful heart is good medicine. Some translations say a “happy, glad, or joyful” heart. Laughter has a way of healing the soul. There were a few days last week that I don’t think I laughed at all. Some days are that heavy. There’s a lot of trouble going on in this fallen world. The news before we left was filled with violence, murder, and strife. Laughter doesn’t pretend these don’t exist. It does, however, momentarily lighten our spirits in a heavy world and point us to God who exchanges beauty for ashes, gladness for mourning, and praise for despair (Isaiah 61:3). Thank God for healing moments of joyful renewal.

How has God used laughter to bring healing to your soul?