9 They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.” 10 The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.12 So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 13 The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
I find myself wondering about people who laugh too much. Sometimes they are just jovial people who are fun to be around. But sometimes they are hiding something - some hurt, some sin, some fear. It's why we have Comedy Central 24/7 - people trying to drown their problems with laughter. Sarah had a lack of faith, and a lot of pain. Childlessness had taken its toll. She struggled to believe and her coping mechanism was to laugh. There are other ways we try to cover our fears - loud anger, addictions, workaholism. What are you afraid of? How do you try to hide it? The Lord is in our faces today: "Why are you laughing? What is your fear? Let's work on it, not try to cover it up."
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