The God Who Laughs

Read: Psalm 2

The one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Psalm 2:4

IN WORD

History has been filled with terrifying forces—from ancient empires like Assyria and Babylon to modern-day terrorists and nuclear-armed superpowers, and many in between. There have been times when lesser rulers cowered in fear at the news of invading armies. But no matter how many powers rise up against their enemies, and no matter how many conquerors virtually deify themselves through their conquests, all are subject to God’s overarching purposes. In fact, according to His Word, He laughs at their impotence. His enemies are never a match for Him.

We have enemies too, and we would love to be able to laugh at them the way God laughs at His. The problem is that we’re small and our opposition is huge. Our obstacles seem insurmountable, our circumstances seem intractable, and the people who stand in our way seem immovable. If we could have God on our side, we could laugh with Him at the smallness of our problems. But when we face adversity, we get intimidated easily. It’s bigger than we are. Like the wilderness wanderers who wondered if they could take the Promised Land, or the soldiers in Saul’s army, who were paralyzed by Goliath’s taunts, we watch our obstacles grow larger and our God seems to become smaller.

IN DEED

This is the opposite of faith. Whatever we focus on usually grows larger in our own minds, and that’s a problem when we gaze at our problems. It only produces fear. Instead, we need to gaze at God and allow our faith to grow. Even more than that, we need to realize that He actually is on our side, just as we had hoped. Not only is He infinitely larger than any adversity we face, He is faithfully with us and working on our behalf. He is as invested in our journey as we are.

What does that mean for us? It means when we see an obstacle or enemy, it is minuscule compared to God. And it is opposed to Him because it is opposed to one of His children. Therefore, we can laugh. Just like He does.

ADDITIONAL READING: Numbers 14:1-9

There is never a fear that has not a corresponding “fear not.”

AMY CARMICHAEL