Laugh for our Health
According to the Mayo Clinic, a good sense of humor can’t cure all ailments, but data is mounting about the positive effects of laughter. A good laugh lightens our load mentally. A good laugh actually induces physical changes in our body. Laughter can stimulate organs, activate and relieve our stress response, and soothes tension. Laughter can improve our immune system, relieve pain, improve our mood, helps us cope with difficult situations, and connect with other people.
Laughter is an expression of hope and expectation in God’s salvation, deliverance, as well as His promises.
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones (Psalm 17:22, ESV).
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them" (Psalm 126:2, ESV).
Follow Jesus' Trail
Hansel and Gretel are the young children of a poor woodcutter. When a famine settles over the land, the woodcutter's second wife tells him to take the children into the woods and leave them there to fend for themselves. The woodcutter opposes the plan, but his wife repeats her demands until he reluctantly agrees. They are unaware that in the children's bedroom, Hansel and Gretel have overheard them. After the parents have gone to bed, Hansel sneaks out of the house and gathers as many shiny white pebbles as he can, then returns to his room, reassuring Gretel that God will not forsake them.
The next day, the children's stepmother gives them small pieces of bread before she and their father take them into the woods. As the family walks deeper, Hansel leaves a trail of white pebbles. After their parents abandon them, the children stay in the woods until night falls and the moonlight reveals the white pebbles shining in the dark. The children then safely follow the trail back home, much to their stepmother's rage. Once again, provisions become scarce and the stepmother angrily orders her husband to take the children further into the woods and leave them there. Hansel attempts to gather more pebbles, but finds his stepmother has locked the door.
The following morning, the children's stepmother gives them smaller pieces of bread, before she and their father take them back into the woods. As the family treks, Hansel leaves a trail of bread crumbs for him and Gretel to follow back home. However, after they are once again abandoned, the children find that the birds have eaten the crumbs and they are lost in the woods.
Despite the Devil and his demons' attempts, the "breadcrumbs" Jesus left behind are still there to lead us safely back to Him. If we follow the trail of His Word and His example, we can embrace the hopeful expectation He alone provides.
To know the way is to know Jesus Himself.
"'You know the way to the place where I am going.' Thomas said to him, 'Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?' Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'” (John 14:4-6, NIV).
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV).
Obsolete
Obsolete words. Unlike "archaic" words which are old, maybe even tired, but have simply fallen out of common use, "obsolete" words as simply no longer used at all. As one literary site puts it:
Believe it or not ... words do “disappear” ... For an English word to be considered obsolete, there can’t be any evidence of its use since 1755 – the year of publication of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary.
To that point, pastor and writer Joseph Parker (1830-1902) provided commentary on the closing words of Isaiah 35:10, which state, "Sorrow and sighing will flee away." He expressed,
"When searching for the meaning of certain words in a dictionary, you will occasionally come across a word marked as 'obsolete.' The time has come for sorrow and sighing to become obsolete in our lives. The things that mar life here and now will become part of the past."
All of human history has undoubtedly been marked by tragedies, sorrows, disappointments, and evils. Therefore, it is truly comforting to know that there will come a time when sorrow and destruction will pass away, and God Himself will wipe away all our tears. At that moment, we will experience the truth written in the holy scriptures that "the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
Are you burdened today by problems that seem insurmountable? Do you feel lonely, heartbroken, and disappointed? If you are a child of God, reflect on these affirming words:
"The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18).
A brighter day will come. On that beautiful day, words like lament, destruction, and tears will become not merely archaic, but utterly obsolete.