September 23, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, ‘God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.‘ Then she added, ‘Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.’” (Genesis 21.5-7)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Remember when Sarah heard God as He stood on the other side of the veil, “This time next year, I will return and Sarah will give you a son.”? Her response was laughter. It was a laughter of surprise as well as the overwhelming sense of the impossible. Abraham had already laughed at God for the same reason when God prophesied the birth of his son by Sarah. God confronted them with their lack of faith straight up. This was God, afterall, that they were talking to. This was not a joke, but a promise bound in the truth of God’s covenant already made with Abraham and established before the foundations of the world. Laughter, however, is a very human response to surprise. A good joke is a matter of timing matching person, place and time. It is leading someone to consider a touch of their own reality and then open the door to a different possibility. Many times, the more we had considered the possibility but left it unsaid, the funnier the joke may be. That is not always the case. In the case of Abraham and Sarah, though they were advanced in age, the thought of children being born between them had to linger in their hearts, mind and spirit. Why would I say this? Because such a thing is a validation of one’s love for the other as husband and wife. It can also become a burden when it doesn’t happen. This was especially true for Sarah as Abraham, by her design, brought forth a son from Hagar, Sarah’s handmaiden. It would have been true for Abraham as well because he loved Sarah and despite passing her off as his sister (which she was), she was his wife to whom he had given his heart to for life.

There are two types of laughing. There is the one where people laugh “at” you. There is nothing really good about such laughter because it usually is based on a weakness or a flaw. Such laughter is the vocal caricature of the one making the joke. We have seen caricatures at the carnival or at a kiosk in a mall. It is a drawing which accentuates a specific feature and blows it out of proportion. It is meant to be funny, usually, but often is a critique to show a weakness and allow the character of the person represented to be made fun of, denigrated and ignored. Sarah must have felt this way in her life right up to the moment she knew she was with child. She lived in a shame only women can know because it is their God-given opportunity to bear a child and deliver it into the world. I wonder if Sarah had secretly hoped Hagar would not get pregnant when she had intercourse with Abraham. This would have proved it was Abraham’s dishonor because he could not plant a seed resulting in an offspring. The pressure would have been off of Sarah and then on Abraham. Sadly, the “laugh” was on Sarah as Hagar slept with Abraham one night and got pregnant with his child.

There is the other form of laughter which is “laugh with me.” Hopefully such collective laughter is not at the expense of someone else. The burden of humiliation is multiplied as we are included in the number of those “laughing at” someone else. There is, as they say, “safety in numbers.” The volume and intensity of laughter that is shared by others is unmistakable. In comedy presentations, there is always someone (intentionally or by sheer reality) in the audience who is a good laugher. Laughter is contagious like a yawn. At first, we may laugh at the laugher because they got the joke before we did or they seem a little louder and more outrageous than you or me. Before long, however, we are given permission to laugh more freely and boldly. Others join with us in that anticipated freedom. The crowd roars. The adrenaline surges. The serotonin rises. Endorphins are released. We feel a sense of euphoria. We feel better and before we know it we are affirming “laughter is the best medicine.” The best medicine seems to be the ability to laugh at one’s self. Sarah found the reason to laugh. Surprised by God. Surprised by joy. Surprised by the attention which pregnancy invokes in others (why we always want to touch that pregnant tummy is born in the wonder of life itself.) They were no longer laughing at Sarah but with her and the joy of restoration. And the relief that failure was in the past. God had been faithful to deliver on the promise made to Abraham. Sarah was the blessing to be a blessing. What a joy for all of us to experience that.

And the name of Isaac? It means “laughter.” They say, “The one who laughs last laughs best.” We might think that it was Sarah or Abraham that would hold this distinction. Maybe because his name was “laughter,” we would think it would be Isaac who would laugh best. For Ishmael, there was no laughter. He was bound to be a man of the wilderness. Twice Sarah had Hagar put out of the Abrahamic community. It was her own doing, of course. Without Sarah, Ishmael would not have been born. Without Sarah, Ishmael would not have known his own blessing of being a father of nations as well. Still, I have to consider, though it is not recorded, that God had the last laugh. He is not laughing at anyone. God does not mock nor is He mocked (Galatians 6.7) God does laugh with pleasure knowing that others are finding their blessing when all hope was gone. When Jesus died on the cross, I have no doubt Satan laughed. Satan laughed too soon. God raised Jesus from death and opened the door to death so that Jesus could deliver all those who would laugh at their past and repent. Satan was defeated. The war was won. The end had come. God must have at least smiled knowing that all things can work together for the good of His people and to His glory. We, mighty ones of God, should share in that laughter as well. God’s promise to bring us a new life is not just a word on a page nor gossip passed by someone who wants to bring us down with lost hope. God promise is real and secured through Jesus Christ Himself. We will have the last laugh not at Satan’s defeat but at our joy for God’s mercy and grace fulfilled in us. We will join the crowds of Heaven and be glad.

TODAYS’ PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness endeavor, but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.