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God, where are you? I don’t see you working. Your presence feels far from me. Have you forgotten your servant?
David asked some of these same questions throughout the book of Psalms. The man after God’s own heart struggled to know that God was near. In other Psalms, David sang God’s praises and described God’s powerful hand at work to defeat his enemies, strengthen him, and fill him with peace through provision.
It is easy to forget all God has done and a challenge to trust all that he is doing now or will do in the future. We fall victim to Satan’s lies that God is not a living, active presence in our lives—we fail to see God’s hand working all things for good (Romans 8:28).
Allow me to add some food for thought to this discussion: The book of Esther makes no mention of God in its entire twelve chapters. Does that mean that God is not present in the story? Do Esther and Mordecai save the Jewish nation or does God?
I think we would all agree that God is very present in the story of Esther. Redemption for his people would’ve been impossible without God’s intervention.
So, what if God does some of his best redemptive work behind the scenes?
God is pursuing you; he loves you with an everlasting love; his faithfulness remains through all the storms of life. As in the story of Esther, we may not hear his name directly. But when we tell our stories, his presence is evident, even if is name goes unmentioned.
Why is it so hard to trust God’s redemptive work is happening behind the scenes?
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In many of the classes I teach, we do something called laughter therapy and use the vowels to practice laughing together. Through the exercise, we recognize the physical, mental/emotional, and relational benefits of laughter. God created a natural remedy in laughter, which some call the best medicine.
I always find it interesting to see who is more ready to participate in the activity—to laugh with me—and who is more hesitant. However, once I get started and laugh in a ridiculous manner, their guards come down and many of the women can’t help but laugh with me.
Laughter is contagious. And the genuine belly-laughter of a baby or small child is the best!
Last week, I was blessed with the opportunity to see my sister, nephew, and niece. Zeni is six months old and is coming into her own personality. She is also learning to laugh. Her older brother, Kadesh, loves to make her laugh and that night was no exception. He even ran over to Pops (my dad) to make sure he knew that Zeni was laughing (all of which dad captured on video).
Laughter unites us. The shared memories and moments create a lasting impression of love and joy. And that night, we spent several minutes laughing together and delighting in the simple things that create laughter for a child.
Laughter is good for the soul. In that moment, nothing else mattered. I felt renewed by that time of laughter and pure joy. We relished the moment and, thanks to modern technology, can relive it with the click of a button.
Take a moment to laugh today. Find joy in the simple things and if you can’t find anyone to laugh with, message me and I’ll share with you the contagious laughter of my nephew and niece!