“The Power of Joy, Finding Strength in Faith and Laughter”
Proverbs 17:22 states: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.“
- The Holy Spirit can transform a person’s temperament, replacing a bad temper with a sense of humor.
- Humor is a God-given power that allows us to laugh at and laugh off things, helping to put challenges into perspective.
- The ability to laugh heartily at appropriate times shows emotional and spiritual health.
- Laughter and joy are closely associated with goodness and a positive outlook on life.
- The absence of joy and laughter can indicate deeper spiritual or emotional issues.
Today’s devotional shares an anecdote about a converted member of the Irish Republican Army who initially struggled to smile due to his past involvement in “grim business.”
- This story illustrates the transformative power of faith and the importance of finding reasons to smile and experience joy.
Today’s reflection also mentions observations from Christian counseling institutes, where participants often arrive burdened by fears, guilt, and apprehension.
- As they share their concerns and work through their issues, laughter and joy gradually increase, leading to a more positive outlook by the end of the week.
The devotional concludes with a prayer asking for the “oil of joy” that anointed Jesus to rest upon the reader, emphasizing the Christian belief that joy is essential to faith and spiritual well-being.
Today’s “faith quotes” and “scripture about faith” summary underscores the importance of maintaining a joyful heart and a positive attitude in facing life’s challenges.
It suggests that humor and laughter benefit emotional and mental health and play a crucial role in spiritual growth and resilience.
Finding joy and reasons to smile, even in difficult circumstances, is key to living a fulfilling Christian life.
The Power of Joy

“No Reason to Smile”
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.—Proverbs 17:22
A surprising thing takes place in those whose temper is tempered by the Holy Spirit—bad temper is replaced by a growing sense of humor. God has given us the power of humor, not only to laugh at things, but to laugh off things. I am not suggesting that we ought to use laughter to deny realities, but humor often reduces things to their proper size.
I once heard a preacher say: “There is no good in a movement or a person where there is no good humor, for goodness has laughter as a corollary.” There is something basically wrong with a person who, at appropriate times, cannot break out into hearty laughter. I heard recently of a member of the Irish Republican Army who was wonderfully converted. He spent the first month after his conversion in the home of a minister who said of him: “It was two weeks before I saw him smile, and when I spoke to him about this, he said: ‘I have been in a grim business, plotting against people—and the way I was living, there was just no reason to smile.’ ” How tragic—“just no reason to smile.” Depend on it, where you cannot smile, you cannot live—you just exist.
Over the years, I have watched many groups come to the CWS Institutes in Christian Counseling. Many are tied up with fears, guilt, and apprehension. We invite them to share their fears and get them up and out. They do. Then the laughter begins. They grow progressively happier as the week goes on. By the end of the week, they are ready to laugh at anything—themselves included.
Prayer – “The Power of Joy, Finding Strength in Faith and Laughter”
Lord Jesus, it is said of You that You were anointed “more than your companions, with the oil of joy.” Let that same anointing rest and remain upon me today—and every day. For Your own dear name’s sake. Amen.
Scripture – “The Power of Joy, Finding Strength in Faith and Laughter”
Psalm 81:1–7
1 Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.
2 Lift up a song—play the tambourine,
the melodious lyre, and the harp.
3 Blow the horn on the day of our feasts
during the new moon
and during the full moon.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
a judgment of the God of Jacob.
5 He set it up as an ordinance for Joseph
when He went throughout the land of Egypt.
I heard an unfamiliar language:
6 “I relieved his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were freed from carrying the basket.
7 You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the thundercloud.
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Proverbs 17:22–23
22 A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
23 A wicked man secretly takes a bribe
to subvert the course of justice.

Acts 14:8–28
8 In Lystra a man without strength in his feet, lame from birth, and who had never walked, sat 9 and heard Paul speaking. After observing him closely and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 Paul said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet!” And he jumped up and started to walk around.
11 When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in the form of men!” 12 And they started to call Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the main speaker. 13 Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the town, brought oxen and garlands to the gates. He, with the crowds, intended to offer sacrifice.
14 The apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their robes when they heard this and rushed into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Men! Why are you doing these things? We are men also, with the same nature as you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them. 16 In past generations He allowed all the nations to go their own way, 17 although He did not leave Himself without a witness, since He did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and satisfying your hearts with food and happiness.” 18 Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and when they had won over the crowds and stoned Paul, they dragged him out of the city, thinking he was dead. 20 After the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
21 After they had evangelized that town and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples by encouraging them to continue in the faith and by telling them, “It is necessary to pass through many troubles on our way into the kingdom of God.”
23 When they had appointed elders in every church and prayed with fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25 After they spoke the message in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed back to Antioch where they had been entrusted to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 27 After they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported everything God had done with them and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent a considerable time with the disciples.
Selwyn Hughes, Holman Bible Staff, Every Day with Jesus Daily Bible (Holman Bible Publishers, 2013).
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