Laugh Again

"There's darkness down there," our four-year-old granddaughter whispered as she peered down the stairs.

She was right. Bright spots on planet earth seem scarce these days.

I love cheering people up. In April, 2020, during COVID-19, I told my wife, "I'm pretty excited about my car. We just got 43 days to the gallon."

But life can drain our joy tank. A few years ago, we made a can't-miss-investment in a hotel. The bank foreclosed. Thankfully, I invested in some airline stocks. Oh, wait.

But friends have lost far worse. Some have lost businesses; others have lost hope. When my wife lost five immediate family members in one year, two thoughts about hardship helped bring back the joy.

1. Expect It. Jesus never said, "In this world you will have ease." He said, "In this world you will have trouble." Never encourage the notion that everything will be wonderful down here. Unrealistic expectations set us up for disappointment. Life is hard. This old world is busted. Whoever said, "If the world didn't suck we'd all fall off," was on to something.

2. Redeem It. And Jesus never said, "Be of good fear. The world has overcome me." He said, "Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world."

I sometimes whine. I say, "My seedless watermelon has a seed in it." "My electric toothbrush died. Now I have to move my arm." But when I leave Whine Country for a place called Gratitude, everything changes. Joy grows best in the soil of thanksgiving.

Nothing will happen to us that God cannot redeem.

In 1916, Kirk Christiansen started a tiny company in a carpenter's shop in Denmark. The housing market collapsed so he started manufacturing toys. In 1924, Kirk's sons accidentally set fire to a pile of wood chips and the now-successful business burned to the ground, along with the family home. In time, Kirk staked the firm's future on some small interlocking plastic bricks. We know them today as Lego. Last year, its sales surpassed $5 billion.

In 33 A.D., a remarkably mediocre and fickle band of disciples listened to Jesus' last words before He left this broken world. "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20) One by one they lost their lives, but a work had begun that would turn the world right-side up.

Yes, it's dark down here. But the same God who raised Joseph from prison, Moses from a basket, Rahab from a brothel and our Savior from the dead is with us today. And my granddaughter is, too. Here is her latest prayer, uttered when my son was sick: "Dear God, please take Daddy's headache away. And give it to Satan. Amen."

Phil's latest book is Laugh Like A Kid Again (Harvest House). Visit him at philcallaway.com