“12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?’
13 The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?”
14 Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.’
(Genesis 18:12-14)”
God sent an angel to tell Mary she would have a son and his name would be Jesus, Savior. God sent an angel to tell Joseph to not fear to wed Mary who was carrying baby to be named Jesus. God spoke to Abram and made a covenant to bless all nations through him and changed his name to Abraham, father of nations. God changed Sarai, his wife’s name, to Sarah as she would mother nations. These encounters were very personal and prophetic. They represented the roles and the dreams of the people.
Later, though, three angels visited Abraham at his tent and told him again that Sarah, past the age of child bearing, would indeed have a child the following year. Sarah laughed. I suspect it was a laugh filled with doubt and disbelief. It was not the “ho, ho, ho” of Santa Claus. Sometimes faith is riddled with doubts. Sometimes we name our children after the experience we have surrounding their birth. Many of us have friends named Joy, Faith, or Chris for Christmas. Sarah named her son Laughter, Isaac, as her doubts became reality and then she truly laughed as did her friends.
“6 Now Sarah said, ‘God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.’ (Genesis 21:6)”
As you think of laughter today, can you think of a time when your faith was tinged with doubt but then the prayer came true. Perhaps your future spouse asked you on a date. Perhaps the medical tests showed an illness was cured. Perhaps you passed a test that seemed hard. The laughter that results from those surprise gifts from God that we thought so impossible, deserves a moment of praise and a thank you prayer. Name one of those experiences and thank God. Who knows what laughter awaits us in the new year? “A joyful heart doeth good like a medicine!” Blessings!
On the Way to Wonder 