$10 Fans

A few weeks ago at work, one of the program residents walked by my office and showed me a purchase that he had made.  It was not anything too exciting, just a black oscillating fan.  However, he was ecstatic about it, as he commented, “Check out this fan I bought!  It was only $10, praise the Lord!”  Although his statement was simple, it was so profound.  He recognized that something so small and simple was good and thanked God for it.  I think that is one thing we can all do more of.  How often do we take time to thank God for all of the good in our lives?  How often do we fail to see the goodness around us?

​The word “good” is used so much that it can seem to lose its meaning.  If we want to truly understand goodness, we can look to God.  Good is a word that is all-encompassing for who God is.  He is good in His love, grace, compassion, and mercy.  Even when we talk about God being good, it can be hard to remember what that really means.  “God is good.  All the Time.”  This is one of those phrases that we tend to walk around saying on a regular basis.  It’s definitely not a bad thing, as it is certainly true.  But for me, it is one of those statements I hear so often that I don’t usually give much thought to it.  How often do we actually soak these words in and let them penetrate our souls?  God is so good that we cannot comprehend the depth of His infinite goodness.

I think it starts with recognizing that every single good thing we have or experience, no matter how big or small, comes from God.  We cannot know or truly understand goodness apart from God.  Most of the time, it is easy to recognize the large blessings and gifts in our lives.  When it comes to the news of having a baby, a big accomplishment, or healing from a sickness, we are quick to thank God for being so good to us, our families, and friends.  However, it is in the small, everyday occurrences that we may fail to see God’s goodness.  Whether it is a coworker buying us lunch or someone opening the door for us, these small and simple things are opportunities for us to thank God.  God always gives out of His abundant goodness for our good.

In a world that can seem like it is filled with evil and darkness, God is still good.  In a world that throws us curve balls and changes our plans, God is still good.  In a world where there is pain, suffering, and loss, God is still good.  There are so many blessings we have in life.  It is often in the small, ordinary moments that we can take the opportunity to see God’s providence. Let's open our eyes to all of the goodness around us and start praising God for the $10 fans in our lives.