The One enthroned in heaven laughs. Psalm 2:4

In the sporting arena, no one laughs at their opponent. From time to time a team or an individual may take an opponent too lightly. In which case they may be taken by surprise and lose the match, but serious sportspeople don’t laugh at an opponent.

But God is never taken by surprise. Consequently, he can laugh at those who oppose him. “The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming” (Psalm 37:13). God knows what will happen in the future. He has the devil on a limited time frame. The devil can do nothing that God doesn’t allow. Therefore God can laugh at the wicked’s feeble attempts to thwart God’s purposes.

Our perspective is small in comparison. When we look at the world, we don’t see God’s ultimate control. Often we see evil apparently winning. We wonder why God doesn’t intervene and prevent hardship and suffering. At such times we need to trust in God’s character and rely on his goodness, believing that one day at the end of time he will be able to say to us, “I can explain everything.”

In the meantime, if we remind ourselves of God’s all-powerfulness, we can be like the woman who is, “… clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come” (Proverbs 31:25). She can laugh at the days to come because she knows God is in control.