Hallow…. I thought about that word a lot over the Halloween week-end. It’s come and gone now…
There is very little hallow about Halloween… except this year, it fell on Sunday, the day that we should have hallowed to God.
Hallow isn’t a word we use much, unless we are reciting what is known as ‘The Lord’s Prayer’….. “Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name….”
To hallow something is to give it a higher purpose. It means to set it apart for a special use, dedicate to a special purpose.
I wonder if we really hallow God’s Name.
I fear we speak His Name rather flippantly sometimes. Do we grasp how holy He is? How utterly perfect? How complete and absolutely other than we are?
This first day of November, I again begin to purpose myself to counting and naming the blessings that God has granted to me. I hallow this season of giving thanks to Him, “…proclaiming aloud Your praise and telling of all Your wonderful deeds…” (Ps. 26:7)
And I challenge you.
Be specific.
No broad brush strokes….not just “I’m thankful for my health, for my family, for my freedom….etc.”
All those things are certainly things to be very thankful for, but I challenge you to articulate and spell it out.
I’m thankful too for my health.
I’m thankful I don’t sit somewhere this morning, like many are doing right NOW, with a needle in my arm, injecting me with chemotherapy to fight a cancer raging in my body.
Yet, I am thankful that there are ways to fight cancer, and I pray right now for those who DO sit in those therapy rooms, those who are fighting for longer physical life, that God will bring healing to them thru that treatment, that He will remove fear, that if that person does not know Him as Savior, that He will put some bold child of God in their path to speak His Name and His message of salvation, so they may know the joy of His salvation and have a secure eternal life, as well as a longer physical life.
I’m thankful for my health.
I’m thankful that my hands have served me for 36+ years doing the work that I do. I’m thankful they don’t hurt worse than they do. I’m thankful they are not gnarled with arthritis, and I pray right now for those who do battle that pain. I pray for that one who this morning, in this cool damp fall air, hurts because of it.
I know many who do.
Thank You Father, for my strong body. The body that birthed two sons. The body that is fit and able to work and play. This body I offer afresh to You this morning, as a living sacrifice…take my everyday ordinary life, consume me, use me, show Your glory, have Your will and way, accomplish Your purposes.
You are God...You are holy...Hallowed is Your Name.
