Do you remember the reaction when God promised a child to elderly Abraham and Sarah? Laughter!
Evidently this wasn’t the right response, because Sarah lied about her laughter In Genesis 18:15.
Things changed by Genesis 21 when the child of promise was born.
Abraham chose the name “Isaac” which means, “he laughs.” I really like Sarah’s reaction to her son’s name: “God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears about this will laugh with me” (Genesis 21:6 NET).
When Abraham & Sarah laughed in Genesis 18, the laughter rang with disbelief, but when they laughed in Genesis 21, it seems to me that it is overflowing with joy.
Certainly some kinds of laughter aren’t appropriate—scoffing at others, delight in sin, or enjoying misfortune, but the laughter of Isaac’s birth seems to me to be a laughter of praise.
Psalm 126 treats it that way: “When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad!”
Maybe we need to add laughter to our repertoire for worship, and celebrate how God has surprised us with good in this world!