Laughatude
(8-8-04)
Job 39:5-25
Laughter comes from different life areas: from joy, from
humor, from pain, from scorn and even from an attitude. The best and greatest
I think is the unhindered laughter of rejoicing. That’s the best. The great guffaws that come from things humorous (clean
I hope) are a close second. Laughter that comes from pain is just crying in disguise. The laughter of the scornful is harsh
and painful.
Laughter that comes from an attitude is a humor of a different
color. In Job 39 God speaks to Job and mentions three things that laugh: the wild donkey, the ostrich, and the war horse.
Each laughs from the core of who they are. We can learn something useful from them. We can learn to develop our own laughatudes
of life.
Why does the wild donkey
laugh? What is his reason? JOB 39:5 "Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes?
6 I gave him the wasteland as his home, the salt flats
as his habitat. 7 He laughs at the commotion in the town; he does not hear a driver's shout. 8 He ranges
the hills for his pasture and searches for any green thing.
The wild donkey laughs because his world has no place for those things that drive civilization. The ways of domestication
are lunacy to him. For the wild donkey the safety and security of the barnyard, and the crack of the wipe and the burdens
load are poor exchange for a mouth full of grain.
What can we learn
from his laughing? Has not God given us freedom from the lunacy of the world? Did Jesus set us free from slavery to those
things that the world marches after as if they are what defines their life and importance? It is true, we too have reason
to laugh at the commotion of the world and their strivings. (Lk.4:17-21; 2Cor.3:17, Gal.5:1,13; Jam.2:12-13, 1Pet.2:16-17)
The ostrich laughs
for a different reason. We all know the ostrich is a goof, a very strange bird. Just to look at it brings one to chuckle.
Even God doesn’t try to defend its being ridicules. It flaps its wings but for what reason? And its ability to reason,
well there just isn’t much up stairs, no what I mean. So why does the ostrich laugh? It may be a goober but try to out
run it. Even the horse will be made to look slow.
So what can we learn from her? The ostrich is not laughing out of scorn or arrogance. I think
it is laughing from the pleasure of glorifying God when it exercises its greatest gift – speed. When we do our best
with our best we too have reason laugh. (Jn.17:1-5 The best Jesus had to give was to do the will of His Father, and He did.)
Finally we come to
the war horse who laughs at fear itself, afraid of nothing. Here we have a creature that is endued with tremendous strength
and size. He is not daunted by his circumstance because he knows he is capable. He knows and is consumed by his purpose –
to war, to battle!
Now what can we learn
from this noble creature? HMMM! Let me see. Has God given His strength to His children?
2Chr.16:9 “For
the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed
to him. …” Our
prayer should be that of Nehemiah’s “now strengthen my hands.” And that of Paul: 16
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your
inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. (Eph.3:16-19) We too can laugh at fear for our God has
made us for these moments – Charge! He has strengthened and is strengthening for what yet lies ahead. To Jesus be the
glory
