A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. Proverbs 17:22 (New Living Translation, NLT)

Some people take themselves too seriously. God is joyful and He wants us to be joyful too. As a matter of fact, He tells us that joy will strengthen us. So, that must mean that joyful people have more strength. More strength to deal with stress. More strength to fight illness and disease. More strength to persist in difficult situations. More strength- period.

And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” Nehemiah 8:10 (New Living Translation, NLT)

It can become far too easy to get discouraged, dejected, and depressed when we look at the circumstances around us. We may be faced with financial issues, health issues, and relationship issues, but we don’t have to worry about them. Instead we need to laugh. Yes, I said laugh. Laugh at trouble and laugh at the devil.

Laughter is such an effective weapon against the enemy. Laughter releases endorphins and feel good chemicals into our bodies to help keep us healthy. Laughter takes our eyes off the problem and lifts our spirits. Laughter really is good medicine. And the devil hates it when we laugh- especially when we laugh at him.

The devil is the most prideful being ever made. And anyone full of pride hates to be laughed at. It makes him crazy. When the devil seems to be hitting you with everything he’s got and you are worn out from putting out one fire after another, take a deep breath and laugh. It takes him off guard. He doesn’t understand how you can laugh when he is throwing everything at you. It shows him that you are just not taking his attacks as seriously as he wants you to. It frustrates him- and it causes him to make strategic errors. Joy really is a tremendous weapon.

So, right now, make yourself laugh. Yes, you can make yourself laugh. At first, it may feel like a fake laugh, but if you do it for a few moments, it will develop into real laughter- maybe even a belly laugh. And as you laugh, you’ll feel the weight lifted and the things that looked so big and bad before will slowly shrink in size. Take a lighthearted approach to life. To rise above we really do have to learn to laugh.