Tuesday, May 19 — God Made Me to Laugh

Sarah laughed. First out of disbelief, then out of sheer joy. Sometimes God's promises arrive late enough that you'd given up — and that's exactly when they break you wide open.

Genesis 21:1-8 — KJV 1 And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2 For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. 4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. 6 And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. 7 And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. 8 And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

Genesis 21:1-8 — WEB 1 Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said, and Yahweh did to Sarah as he had spoken. 2 Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. 3 Abraham called his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac. 4 Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him. 5 Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. 6 Sarah said, "God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me." 7 She said, "Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age." 8 The child grew and was weaned. Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

Explanation

The name Isaac means "he laughs." Sarah picked it. And there's something striking about the fact that this woman — who once laughed in disbelief when she overheard the Lord telling Abraham she'd have a son in her old age — chose laughter as the permanent name of the answer to her prayer.

Sarah was about ninety. Abraham was a hundred. They had been waiting on this child for somewhere around twenty-five years. They had tried to make it happen on their own — that's what the Hagar story is about, a few chapters earlier — and they had failed in painful ways. And then, when they had nothing left but their wrinkles and their grief, God showed up. And he kept his word.

Notice what Abraham does next: he throws a feast. A great feast, the text says. Not a small thing. Not a quiet, dignified moment. A feast. The kind of celebration that involves cooking for days, inviting the whole community, laughter spilling out of the tents into the desert evening. They didn't whisper their gratitude. They threw a party.

This week's theme is the Christian view of recreation, and here's something we don't always notice: throughout scripture, God's people mark the milestones of grace with celebration. Weaning a child. Bringing in a harvest. Surviving a war. Watching a son or daughter walk through a door we didn't think they'd reach. The right response to grace, biblically speaking, is often a feast.

If you were raised in a stoic household, this can feel foreign. We're more comfortable with grim endurance than open joy. We say things like, "I'm just grateful," in the same flat tone we use to read traffic reports. But Sarah's laughter has a different quality. It's loud. It's contagious. It says: I cannot believe this is happening. I cannot keep this in.

What has God done for you that you haven't celebrated yet? Maybe it's the kid who finally came home. Maybe it's the diagnosis that turned out better than expected. Maybe it's the marriage you thought wouldn't make it through last year. Maybe it's just that you woke up one more time.

Sarah named the answer to her prayer "he laughs." That's a theology, in a single word. Recreation, in the deepest sense, is what we do when grace is so good we can't sit still.

Thought for the Day Some prayers come back as laughter you can't keep in.

Reflection Question What unspoken answer to prayer have you not yet stopped to celebrate?

Prayer Father, you remember the things we've forgotten to thank you for. The mercies we treated as small. The doors that opened that we walked through without looking back. Today, give us Sarah's laugh — the kind that startles us with how good you've been. And teach us to mark your faithfulness with feasts, not just thank-yous. Amen.

This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: The Christian View of Recreation.