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Choose to Chuckle
During our college days, my husband and I befriended Benjamin, a student from Lagos, Nigeria, who traveled halfway around the world to attend a Baptist college in East Texas after becoming a believer through the witness of some Baptist missionaries.
Benjamin, who was the son of a tribal witch doctor, was at least fifteen years older than we were, and he seemed much wiser. His wisdom came from years of lived experiences, and he wasn’t shy about sharing those stories with us, something we encouraged him to do whenever we invited him to have a meal with us.
Decades later, many of his stories still have an impact on my life, primarily because the culture he grew up in was so different from my own, so consequently, his perspective caused me to look at the world and my faith through a different lens.
One of my favorite stories was the one he told us about the time he and his best friend were on their way to another village and were attempting to cross a flooded river. He described the difficulty he had in making it across, and then he told us how anxious he felt when he saw his friend fighting the current, eventually going under, but then emerging a little later and grabbing a tree branch along the riverbank.
Benjamin began laughing as he got to this part of the story, so we assumed it had a happy ending, but then he said, “But as God would have it, the branch broke off, and my friend drowned.”
When we questioned him about why he laughed even though he must have felt sad at the loss of his friend, he said, “In my culture, when something is so sad that you can’t cry about it, then we choose to laugh. Choosing to laugh will eventually overcome your sadness.”
I’ve often remembered Benjamin’s advice during difficult periods in my life, and each time I’ve followed his advice and chosen laughter to get me through the rough patch, I’ve always found it made the situation better.
I was reminded of this as I was reading some verses from the Bible this week about joy, and I came across some similar advice from the writer of Proverbs.
Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Are you going through a hard time?
Choose to chuckle.
I believe you’ll find it’s good medicine.
Need Comfort?
Body language experts are on the news a lot these days. Because it’s an election season, they’re asked to interpret the subtle, nonverbal cues that give insight into a political candidate’s feelings.
One particular observation got my attention recently, because I had never heard anyone put a name to certain gestures a speaker makes, like clutching hands together, putting hands to the face, or massaging an arm. Body language experts call these “comfort gestures.”
Such actions serve to soothe the speaker and indicate the person is feeling anxious, stressed, or uncertain. One expert says that everyone has these “self-comforting movements,” which we all engage in many times during our day.
Although we may not be aware of how often we feel the need to comfort ourselves, the Bible is full of verses that address our universal need for comfort. I immediately thought of several, which made me curious, so I did an internet search and discovered over 100 verses that either mention comfort directly or describe how God provides comfort to us. Bible verses that speak of how God comforts us.
Here’s one of my favorites: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.
This verse tells me that Jesus Christ himself will comfort our hearts, and He does so on the basis of His love for us, a love that caused him to give “his life for us, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
Now that’s comforting!
What Can I Give You?
If I asked you, “What can I give you?” you might not be as excited about the prospect of getting something from me as you would be if God Himself were to ask you that question.
After all, this is the God who made heaven and earth, who created man from a handful of dirt, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, who speaks with the voice of thunder, who is sovereign over all His creation.
While it may sound like I’m engaging in a spiritual fantasy, this actually happened when David’s son, Solomon, was anointed King of Israel. The account is in I Kings 3. At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” I Kings 3:5.
Pastors and Bible teachers often use this question to get their listeners to ask themselves what they would do in this situation. “What would you say if God offered to give you anything? What is one thing you would ask God to give you?”
Although there are always some humorous answers like, “I’d ask Him for fifty more things,” most answers aren’t of a selfish nature. In moments like these, most believers focus on eternal values.
Here’s what Solomon answered: “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” I Kings 3:9.
Some might think God would just naturally give Solomon all he needed to do the task he had given him, and Solomon had just wasted this request by asking for wisdom. But how did God feel about it? “It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.” I Kings 3:10.
It pleased Him because before Solomon asked for wisdom, he acknowledged he was humbled to be chosen as King of Israel, but he felt inadequate for the task and could only accomplish it by God’s help.
As unique as it sounds, Solomon wasn’t the only person to be given the opportunity to ask something of God. Jesus said to all believers in Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”
Like Solomon, God will be pleased to answer your request if you come with a heart of humility and selflessness, acknowledging your inadequacies, and trusting Him to answer your request in a way that honors His name.
“What can I give you?” asks God the Father, who has already given us His Son.
Words Don’t Really Matter
Do words really matter? We tell our children they do. We defend our use of words. We remind ourselves to choose our words carefully.
However, at the end of our life, whether we die of old age, disease, violence, or an accident, our words don’t really matter. There’s only one word that matters—His Word—the Word of God.
It was His Word that brought our world into existence, His Word that brought comfort to sinful Man in the Garden, His Word that promised a coming redemption.
It was the Word who became a man, the Word who healed a cripple, the Word who restored sight to the blind, the Word who brought a dead man to life, the Word who said, “Father, forgive them.”
It was the Word who took the punishment for our sins, the Word who conquered death for us, the Word who rose to give us life.
Our words don’t really matter, but His Word does.
His Word says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:7
No other words matter.
Do you really want to believe?
Why do you believe in God?
I’ve seldom had to answer that question. In fact, when I heard it the other day, it surprised me. That’s like asking me why I breathe or why I love my grandkids. The answer seems obvious.
Then again, maybe it isn’t.
Why do I believe in God?
It’s certainly not because I’ve had some tangible experience. I’ve never seen God or had an angelic visitation, nor have I received some special sign—a cross in the sky or writing on the wall—to prove He’s real.
The answer to why I believe in God involves trust; it involves faith. I trust what the Bible tells me about God. Ironically, the faith to believe in Him and what the Scriptures tell me about Him is a gift, a gift from God. It is, as Ephesians 2:9 says, “not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Believing in God is not something I can do for myself. The ability to believe in God comes from God.
Any person who sincerely wants to know God will find Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13.
I believe in God because He created the desire, provided the means, and made the provision for me to believe in Him.
Let’s Talk Happiness
It’s been a cold, rainy week in Oklahoma. Not much sunshine. I’m not a person who gets depressed, and I really like some rainy days every now and then, but I’ve been longing for sunshine for two days now. People seem to be happier when the sun is shining.
As I thought about what makes people happy, I came across a devotional that references mankind’s universal search for happiness.
In the article, a book by C. S. Lewis called Mere Christianity is referenced. Here are two quotes from it that I believe give clarity and substance to the idea of happiness.
“All that we call human history–money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery–is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”
“God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” –C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
A bright cloudless day can’t really make a person happy. Only God can do that.
Turn your face toward the Son. Bask in the warmth and happiness of His Light today.
“You make known to me the path of life, in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11.
Fifteen Minutes Earlier
Whenever I come to the last day of a year, I always remember something that happened to me almost fifty years ago. That memory is triggered because at the end of every year, I finish reading all 66 books of the Bible.
Once I finish, I always record it in the front of the Bible I’ve been using for that year. Not surprisingly, I’ve gone through several Bibles in those fifty years.
Even though I write down each time I’ve read it through, I don’t do so to show I’ve met some goal. I do it to remind myself that I’ve kept my commitment to the Lord to spend the first fifteen minutes of every morning with Him.
In reality, I usually spend an hour reading the Bible and praying before I start my day, but when I first made this commitment, I only agreed to do it for fifteen minutes.
I made this promise as I was convalescing at my parents’ house while recovering from gallbladder surgery. That’s when I came across a little booklet in my mother’s collection of books that was entitled “Time Alone With God.”
Even though I would often read my Bible, it was sporadic and not a daily practice. However, this author challenged me to set my alarm fifteen minutes early and spend that time reading the Bible, using a plan included in the booklet that would mean I would read the Bible through in a year.
The author promised that if I would make this commitment, the Lord would meet me in the pages of His Word every morning, and I would come to know Him in a more intimate way.
There was a commitment page I could sign, along with the location of where I planned to have my “Time Alone With God.” Once I signed it, I noticed that below my signature, it said something like, “Remember this commitment, because the Lord will always be here waiting for you, whether you honor your promise or not.”
From that day forward, I’ve always set my alarm to get up in plenty of time to keep my commitment—despite obligations with my family and a work scheduled—and I’m convinced that having that time with the Lord has brought Him glory and honor and transformed my life into one of joy, peace, happiness, and contentment.
Tomorrow, January 1st (or a day of your choosing),you have the opportunity to experience this for yourself. I urge you to do so, and here’s a link where you can find a daily Bible reading plan to help you on your way.
Looking For Something?
As the Christmas holidays get near, I often go to a store “looking for something” to give as a present, without really having something specific in mind. I just know I’ll recognize it as something the person might like or need.
When I was reading through the gospel of John recently, I noticed that God is also “looking.” John 4:23 says, “But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.”
So God is “looking” or “seeking,” as some translations say, for people to worship Him.
There’s no doubt God deserves to be worshiped.
Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we are presented with reasons to worship Him—for what He has made, for what He has done, for who He is, for His attributes—so it’s not surprising in Revelation 4:11 that we find worshipers in heaven declaring a beautiful summary of why we should worship Him. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
But what about now? Jesus said God was seeking people to worship him as we go about our earthly lives. He’s looking for true worshipers, those who give him honor and glory in their spirit as well as in their lives. As He’s seeking, will he find you?
What is God Thinking?
I love looking at NASA’s Hubble image of the day, and I subscribe to several daily news feeds which send me announcements about the latest space and astronomy happenings.
I’m drawn to the heavens because I’m able to see the incredible beauty of God’s handiwork there. “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above declares his handiwork.” Psalm 19:1.
Scientists tell us when we look at the heavens above our heads, even with the most powerful of telescopes, we’re only able to see a minuscule portion of the universe. Human beings can never fully grasp the vastness of the world our Creator has made all in order to display His glory.
I believe God intended it to be that way.
God created an incomprehensible universe because He is incomprehensible. The immense heavens reflect an immense God, giving us, at best, only the barest pinhole glimpses of a God of unlimited power.
Someone has suggested perhaps the Universe is just ONE of God’s thoughts. How mind-blowing is that?
Trying to comprehend the power behind a Being who can create the Universe is impossible for a finite human creature. It’s just as impossible to understand the grace of God in making provision through His Son for human beings to live with Him in His Universe forever and to enjoy a personal relationship with him.
Psalm 8:3-4 “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
What to know more about the possibility of a personal relationship with God? Watch the video below.
He Died for Dirt
I love the way David describes how God treats His children in Psalm 103. David says He “satisfies your desires with good things.”(Psalm 103:5).
Later on in this Psalm, David writes, “He remembers we are but dust,” and he writes this in connection with the compassion of God. “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are but dust.” (Psalm 103:13-14).
God created human beings out of a common substance, a substance of little worth, just a handful of dirt. Inside this dirt-formed vessel, He placed an image of Himself. When that happened, something of little value became something of infinite value—a living human being. Every human being born after Adam reflects this God-likeness.
Even though we bear His likeness, we are still just dirt, and He remembers this. He knows our frailties, our weaknesses, our dirt, and because of this, He has compassion on us. The Psalmist says, “He crowns you with love and compassion.” (Psalm 103:4).
Even though we’re made of dirt, we have a regal bearing because, as God’s children, we wear the crown of His compassion and love. That’s why David begins and ends this Psalm with these words. “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” (Psalm 103:22).
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His Glory My Joy, a blog of Author Luana Ehrlich 
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