Shaken by the wind or laughing out loud

The other day I burst out laughing when I read a passage from the book of Isaiah. It wasn't a joke, of course. I don't think there are jokes in the Bible, but there were definitely funny moments. You probably know the story of Ahaz, a wicked king of Judah. Ahaz literally trembled with terror when he was threatened by the combined forces of the kings of Syria and Israel. The text tells us that the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people were shaken, as the trees of the forest are shaken by the wind.

This in itself is already very amusing; we are faced with the spectacle of a man who previously had no regard for God, although he was the leader of God's people, and who suddenly finds himself in dire straits while in danger. We want to say to him 'So we've lost our pride?' But what made me laugh was something else entirely: the prophet's reaction, or rather God's reaction through the prophet. God, seeing what was happening, spoke to Isaiah and gave him a message for Ahaz.

So Isaiah went to see our friend Ahaz, cowardly Ahaz. When he saw him, he simply said, and I'm paraphrasing, 'listen, don't worry about these two minions, okay, no, actually he said, 'be calm, don't be afraid, And don't let your heart be alarmed, At these two smoking embers,' they're plotting against you and saying they're going to dethrone you; I say, 'That won't happen, that won't happen.' Punto.

And I burst out laughing. Too loud, really too loud. I can never believe it, God, in fact, never cares about the lucubrations of men or unfavorable circumstances. I always say that what is interesting about God is that He thinks He is God; He always acts as if He can do whatever He wants. He speaks to you and you see that He clearly pays no attention to the opposition that threatens; you hesitate, you stammer, but nothing doing. Why? Because He knows that a breath is enough to sweep everything away.

And we should know this too. That is why it behooves us to spend more time meditating on the nature of God and seeking to know Him truly. We will be imbued with the same serenity that He has in the face of opposition and will be able to laugh at every unrighteous imagining and say, 'It will not happen, it will not take place.'

I like that; it's normal, after all, contrary spirits don't like to have their backs to the wall. Contrary to what we might imagine, constantly agonizing over our circumstances is not a sign of wisdom, but rather of ignorance of the nature of God. God, who is not a senile old man with white hair wringing his hands (like us) in the sky, perplexed as He is by the state of our world; far from it, He is the One before whom all things and all people eventually capitulate. We are in excellent company when we are with God.

For all those who have found themselves flinching, withering, weakening and cowering in the face of the devil's threats and rantings, God says this, 'I have heard these threats, it will not happen, it will not take place'; and start laughing because God still thinks He is God. He is simply waiting for you to think the same and act accordingly.

Ultimately, tell yourself that as long as God is not one of your critics, everything is fine because the only thing that really matters is what God says. Therefore, a high opinion of God and a lower opinion of man and the enemy allows us to get through any difficulty and come out on the other side laughing heartily with God.

Selah!