Might as well Laugh!

A praise report with a smile.

Ha, Ha, Ha... sometimes I just have to laugh at how things are going.

There are moments in life when the enemy would love for us to look at a small inconvenience and let it become the last straw. Not because the thing itself is so terrible, but because it lands on top of everything else. One more bill. One more repair. One more disappointment. One more thing that did not go the way we planned. That is where I was when the window on my SUV started acting up.

I had a window that fell off the track in my SUV. It would not stay where it was supposed to stay. Sometimes it would slip a little down inside the door, and I would have to pull it back up or try to baby it along until I could scrounge up the money to get it fixed. The repair was going to be around four hundred dollars, and at that moment four hundred dollars might as well have been four thousand. It was one of those problems I knew needed attention, but I also knew I could not just snap my fingers and make the money appear.

So I went to bed with the window just about an inch from the top. I looked at it, thought about it, and then reasoned with myself: “No big deal. It is not going to rain in Houston anyway. This is like the longest drought in history!”

You know how that goes.

The next morning, lo and behold, it rained.

And it did not just sprinkle. It rained hard.

That is the kind of moment where the flesh wants to say, “Of course. Of course this would happen. Of course the one time I leave the window cracked, the drought breaks right over my truck.” It sounds funny now, but at that moment it did not feel funny. At that point in my life, moments like this felt heavier than they should have. It was not just about a wet seat or a damp floorboard. It was about feeling like I could not catch a break. It was about wondering how much more I could take.

I know some people may say, “It is just a car window.” But when your soul is already tired, even a small thing can feel like a wave over your head. That is why we have to learn how to respond before our emotions run away with us.

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:18, KJV

Notice the verse does not say to give thanks for every evil thing as though every problem is good in itself. It says, “In every thing give thanks.” In the middle of it. While it is raining. While the window is slipping. While the bill is unpaid. While the solution is not obvious. Thanksgiving is not denial. Thanksgiving is spiritual warfare.

I did not start there that morning.

I bucked it up, put on my slippers, grabbed a towel, and headed out to deal with the situation. As soon as I stepped outside, I was immediately deterred by the mammoth amount of water falling from God’s sky and the furious wind that accompanied it. I frowned and turned right back inside. I decided, at least for a moment, that I would simply sulk my way through this.

I could already see it in my mind. The seats soaked. The carpet drenched. That musty smell that never leaves. Electrical problems. More money. More frustration. More evidence, according to my flesh, that everything was going wrong.

That is what the negative imagination does. It preaches a sermon too, but it is not the gospel. It takes one fact and builds a whole cathedral of fear around it. The fact was simple: it was raining and my window was not completely closed. But my mind began adding chapters that had not been written yet.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God...”

— 2 Corinthians 10:5, KJV

Sometimes the battle is not merely what is happening outside the house. Sometimes the battle is what is happening inside our thinking. I was looking at rain through the lens of lack, weariness, and expectation of defeat. I was not looking at it through the faithfulness of God.

Soon, sulking started to seem unproductive. That is a blessing all by itself. There is a moment when the Holy Spirit can tap you on the shoulder and show you that your attitude is not helping anything. I could sit there and rehearse the problem, or I could turn my attention toward the Lord. I decided to pray and praise God a little bit.

Just a little bit.

That is how it starts sometimes. Not with a giant leap, but with a small turn. A “Lord, I trust You.” A “Father, You are still good.” A “God, I do not like this, but I thank You anyway.” A little praise can become a doorway out of the prison of self-pity.

“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

— Psalm 34:1, KJV

“At all times” includes sunny days and rainy days. It includes the days when the window works and the days when the window slides down. It includes the moments when I feel spiritual and the moments when I am standing in slippers, staring at a storm, wanting to complain.

Praise does something to our perspective. It does not always change the circumstance immediately, but it changes the atmosphere in our hearts. It reminds us that God is bigger than the thing we are staring at. It reminds us that the Lord is not surprised. He is not pacing heaven wondering how He will get us through this one. He is Father. He is present. He is kind.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

— Philippians 4:19, KJV

I have had to learn that His supply does not always look like a check in the mail. Sometimes it is wisdom. Sometimes it is endurance. Sometimes it is favor. Sometimes it is a strong wind blowing rain away from an open window.

The rain lasted about an hour. When it was over, I put my slippers back on and trudged toward my SUV with towel in tow. I opened the passenger door expecting to see a scene that would make me fall to my knees and cry. I had already prepared myself emotionally for the damage. I had already rehearsed the disappointment.

Instead, I saw a blessing.

Remember the wind that came with the rain? The very thing that made me turn around and go back inside was the thing God used to protect my truck. That strong wind actually blew the rain away from my passenger side window. It was so strong that hardly a drop of rain got inside.

Ha ha ha!

Might as well laugh.

God is good.

That is what got me. The wind looked like part of the problem, but it was part of the provision. I thought, “Great, now it is raining and windy.” But God was using that wind. I did not understand it while I was sulking. I did not see it while I was imagining disaster. But when I opened the door, I realized the Lord had been merciful in a way I had not expected.

How many times has God done that in our lives? We complain about the wind, not knowing the wind is keeping the rain out. We complain about the delay, not knowing the delay is protecting us from something ahead. We complain about the closed door, not knowing the closed door is an answer to a prayer we forgot we prayed.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

— Romans 8:28, KJV

“All things” does not mean all things are pleasant. It means God is able to weave even the unpleasant things into His purpose. The broken window was not good. The anxiety was not good. The rain in that moment did not feel good. But God was good in the middle of it, and He showed me His hand in a small, personal way.

Some people only look for God in the spectacular. They want the Red Sea to part, fire to fall, and angels to appear. I believe God still does mighty things. But I also believe He teaches us through little testimonies. A dry truck in a rainstorm may not make headlines, but it can preach to your heart if you are willing to listen.

The Lord was showing me something about trust. He was showing me something about thanksgiving. He was showing me that my first reaction does not have to be my final position. I may start with a frown, but I do not have to stay there. I may feel the pressure, but I do not have to agree with despair.

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

— Proverbs 17:22, KJV

There is holy laughter that comes from realizing the devil did not win. There is laughter that comes from seeing how small our panic was compared to God’s care. There is laughter that comes when we catch ourselves building a mansion of worry and then God walks in and says, “Look again.”

It is OK. I am in good company. Father God laughs too.

“The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.”

— Psalm 37:12-13, KJV

The Lord is not intimidated by what intimidates us. He sees the end from the beginning. He sees the enemy’s schemes. He sees the pressure. He sees the bill. He sees the broken window. He sees the storm clouds before we even check the forecast. And He also sees the outcome.

That does not mean we never hurt. It does not mean we pretend. It does not mean we slap a religious slogan on real pain and call that faith. Real faith can cry. Real faith can be honest. But real faith also turns toward God and says, “Father, I do not understand this right now, but I know You are good.”

Looking back, I am thankful the Lord let me see the blessing clearly. Had I not checked, I might have spent the whole day under a cloud that was not even real. I might have kept sulking about damage that never happened. That is a word for somebody: do not let imagined disaster steal today’s praise. Go look again. Pray again. Praise again. The Lord may have already been working while you were worried.

Your Next Steps

1. Pause before you panic. When the next frustrating thing happens, take one minute to breathe, pray, and refuse to let your imagination write the whole story before God has finished moving.
2. Give thanks in the middle of it. Speak one specific praise out loud, even if it feels small: “Lord, You are faithful,” “Father, You are my provider,” or “Jesus, I trust You right now.”
3. Look for the hidden provision. Ask God to show you where He is already helping. The wind you are complaining about may be the very thing He is using to keep the rain out.

So yes, sometimes the window slips. Sometimes the rain comes. Sometimes the wind blows hard. But our Father is still watching, still providing, still teaching, and still worthy of praise.

Ha ha ha.

Might as well laugh.

God is good.