Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of ten days of reflection and repentance culminating in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Yom Kippur is also a day of resolution, much as New Year's Day is on the Gregorian calendar. The similarities end there, however. New Year's is festive. Yom Kippur is somber. There are no real consequences to New Year's resolutions. If we fail, then we are disappointed with ourselves, but little else happens. Yom Kippur, on the other hand, is about getting your life aligned with God's plan. Someday the Messiah will return on Rosh Hashanah and will take his throne in judgment on the following Yom Kippur. In that year, the days between will take on a much more sober tone as we contemplate answering for our lives to the True King. Each year that he delays is an opportunity to set things right, to make up for past wrongs, and to grow another step closer to perfection.
In my own life, this past year has been marked by some dramatic upswings, but then some harsh downturns as well. Right now, I'm backed into several corners at once, and I have no idea what the future holds or what I'm supposed to do next. This has all come to a head in just the last few days. I have an unprecedented opportunity that isn't likely to come my way again, but it consistently remains just beyond my reach. I keep saying to myself, "Do what's right; let God worry about the consequences. Do what's right; let God worry about the consequences." But it's little help. How can I do what's right when I don't know what that is? I have no wisdom or divine revelation. It seems that God has conspired with the heavens to place the Ten Days exactly where I needed them this year. I have just over a week to spend in prayer and fasting until Yom Kippur. I hope I'll have some answers by then.
I wish I didn't have to be so cryptic, but I'm asking for your prayers anyway.
Just FYI: This was written in 2008. A couple of weeks later I put my house in Denver on the market. It was the worst possible time to be selling a house. The real estate market had crashed, the school year was already in session, and I owed more than the house was worth. Nevertheless, God had a plan. The house sold in less than a month for my full asking price. I paid off the mortgage with about $1000 left over. My son and I moved to Texas, and we entered the greatest period of personal growth I have ever experienced.
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