A woman healed of depression breaks into uncontrollable laughter during a church service. The speaker asks why churches accept tears but distrust laughter, arguing that genuine joy from the Holy Spirit can overflow as spontaneous, bubbling laughter, like laughing with a close friend.
In one service that we had, this woman comes up and she begins to testify that she was healed of depression. And I could see this smile on her face. She was beaming with joy. She didn't look like someone who had depression. I know that sounds ignorant to say because depression doesn't always have immediate symptoms, but what she was describing to me was this persistent sadness. She said that it was just constant and I wasn't seeing that on her in the moment. So I asked her, well, what are you sensing now? And as she went to try to explain to me the joy that she was feeling, that smile on her face turned into laughter. Now I know people have issues with holy laughter. I don't know why, I honestly don't. We have no issue with people crying in church. Why on earth do we have an issue with people laughing in church? It's an expression of human emotion responding to the presence of God. I do also understand that some people exaggerate it and some people make it a show, but there are times, let me tell you, there are times when the joy of the Spirit is so overwhelming, It's like laughing with a good friend. It's just this, this bubbly, wonderful, joyful overflow that you can't control. She begins to laugh. She's smiling. She's trying to get her words out. I say, what's going on with you? She says, I don't know. She says, this is the first time I've laughed in years. What was that? That was the joy of the Spirit.
