This question is one that kids and adults have asked me in more than one occasion. We serve in our church children’s ministry and it has been asked quite a few times. There are a a lot of passages in the Bible that we can imagine by the way it is written that God does have a sense of humor.
We can’t expect for God to be serious every hour of everyday. But, God does have a purpose for everything that happens in our lives even and we can’t take everything lightly or even to seriously. We have to ask our Father for wisdom in everything that we go through in our lives.
(Genesis 1:27) So God created mankind in his own image.
There’s no reason to think God doesn’t have a sense of humor. Most humans have a sense of humor, and we are made in his image. When you think of someone who has a great sense of humor, you will usually find this person is someone who laughs a lot. Laughter and a good sense of humor go hand in hand. This ability to laugh comes from God.
A baby who is made in God’s image does not have to be taught to smile and laugh. It just comes natural. Babies usually begin smiling within a couple of months after being born. When a baby smiles in response to seeing their mother, or after hearing their dad’s voice, it is evidence that God has given us things like laughter, humor, and happiness to help us in our lives. A baby smiles because it is happy to see its loved ones.
This in return brings happiness to the parents who see their little ones smiling. Hearing the laughter of children brings joy to most everyone.
How’s A Talking Donkey For Proof Of God’s Sense Of Humor
One of the most amazing proofs of God’s sense of humor comes from the Old Testament.
(Numbers 22:28) Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?
Using a talking donkey to line out the prophet Balaam may not have been funny to the prophet, but many others over the years have gotten a laugh from this incident when they have read about it. When God want to speak to us, He will use anything or anyone to get His message to us.
Other scriptures to consider about the subject of laughter and humor include (Proverbs 15:13) A happy heart makes the face cheerful, (Ecclesiastes 3:4) a time to weep and a time to laugh, and (Proverbs 17:22) A cheerful heart is good medicine.
Ananias and Saul
In the Book of (Acts 9) God asks one of his followers to do something that is laughable. He asks Ananias, who lives in Damascus (in present day Syria), to go see a man named Saul who is visiting his city. The reason this is so laughable is because this isn’t the kind of guy Ananias is ever going to want to meet.
We have to remember that Saul had come to Damascus to capture and arrest people (like Ananias) who were following Jesus. After God tells him to go to Saul, I picture Ananias laughing (even though it tells us he was actually scared). Maybe Ananias says something sarcastic like, “Sure God, I’ll make it easier on him to find me. Do you want me to beat myself for him as well?”
But God isn’t kidding. Even though Saul’s plan was to oppose everything Jesus was about, Jesus is going to use Saul (later be renamed Paul) in spreading this church all over the known world and as the author of much of the New Testament of the Bible.
Ananias went to Paul, and the rest is church history. Imagine Ananias as he aged. Don’t you think he looked back on this point in time, when God called him to do this crazy thing, as one of the real highlights of his life? Maybe he even laughed!
Jonah and The Fish
Jonah disobeys God’s instructions and takes a wild ride in the belly of a whale for 3 days. The fish vomits him onto the shore (I’m thinking seaweed wraps his body). Whatever he’s covered with dries to his skin as he marches to Nineveh to deliver God’s message of destruction. Throughout the ordeal, everyone but Jonah obey God: the sailors, fish, the wind, the gourd, the Ninevites, the worm.
Nineveh repents so God changes His mind, which really angers Jonah. He pouts and sits in the shade. He asks the Lord to take his life. God causes a worm to eat the shade plant (too funny) so Jonah scorches in the hot sun. God has Jonah on His mind (probably giggling all the time) and starts a conversation with him. God tells Jonah that “Do you Do Well To Be Angry” See how the story ends (Jonah 4).
Other Passages
The Bible is full of such stories: Elijah whining after killing the prophets of Baal, Moses losing control and destroying the first set of the Ten Commandments, frogs hopping about in Egypt, and Rhoda leaving Peter outside knocking on the door (Acts 12:11-16).
There’s no doubt God has a sense of humor and wants us to laugh because He does, often. Start noticing your comical surroundings. As you chuckle and snicker, thank God for His gift of humor He loves to share.
Many people have used humor in a way that is very displeasing to God. Dirty jokes from coworkers and vulgar comedians have given humor a bad name for some people. This is man’s way with many things that God did not originally intend. Appropriate humor and laughter is a gift from above that should be put into practice as often as possible.
Many people tend to forget that God is the master of our lives if we let him and has a master plan for each and every one of our lives. He is in control. God knew and wrote the book on our live long before we were born and he knows our lives better than we do.
Despite what we human may think is best for us God really does know better what`s best for us. Many people have asked for something they were sure to get including myself only ending up to not get it at that particular time but say years down the line saying, Now it makes sense. I see why God didn`t give me what I originally asked for because if he had I wouldn`t be in this better situation I am currently in. ” God has the perfect time for everything.
If you are with God then you know he is constantly working in our lives preparing us for the future and giving us what is best for us. When we go through the many trials we experienced in our lives and realize we are on our last leg we should pray and pray a lot. I have had many unexplainable things for the better happen to me when I prayed and going through trying times also brought me closer to God.
God may take us through trying times only to help us grow stronger and bring us closer to him. He does it because he loves us so much and loves us with an unconditional love. Just like you and I love our kids, we are all God`s children and he loves us dearly.
So, when people ask, “Does God have a sense of humor?” Yes, He does. He created us in his image and when we rejoice he rejoices right along with us. When we celebrate, he celebrates right along with us, when we are wallowing in happiness; he is right by our side as happy as we are. And when we are going through tough and trying times he is right there with us holding us in the palm of his hand and leading the way.
So, just remember that God has a plan for each and every one of us and sometimes those plans are not always what we expect. When we all realize the greatness of God and his level of his love for us then he can rejoice and laugh right along with us as we celebrate his goodness and greatness.
God Bless,
MyBibleQuestions
