Wednesday Read: October 21 - Three-Quarters Through
October 21 marks exactly three-quarters through the month. Twenty-one days complete, ten remaining. Three weeks in, less than two left. You're definitively in the final stretch now. The month is closer to ending than continuing.
This moment requires honest assessment. The first quarter (days 1-8) brought initial energy and fresh intentions. The second quarter (days 9-16) revealed emerging patterns and tested commitment. The third quarter (days 17-21) brought the hard middle where enthusiasm faded and difficulty accumulated. Now you're entering the final quarter (days 22-31) where you either finish strong or fade into the end.
Scripture repeatedly emphasizes finishing well. Paul wrote near the end of his life: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). He didn't say "I started well" or "I had good intentions." He said "I finished." Starting matters. Finishing matters more.
Jesus told a parable about two sons. Their father asked both to work in his vineyard. The first said "I will not" but later changed his mind and went. The second said "I will, sir" but didn't go (Matthew 21:28-31). Jesus asked which son did the father's will. Obviously the one who actually worked, despite initially refusing. Good intentions without follow-through equal nothing.
The same principle applies to October. You started the month with intentions. Maybe you've kept them. More likely you haven't - most intentions fail by day 21. But the month isn't over. Ten days remain. What you do with those ten days matters more than lamenting the twenty-one that are past.
Consider Josiah, who became king of Judah at age eight. His grandfather Manasseh had been Judah's worst king, promoting idolatry, sacrificing his own son to pagan gods, and filling Jerusalem with innocent blood. His father Amon continued Manasseh's evil practices and was assassinated after reigning just two years. Eight-year-old Josiah inherited a kingdom steeped in wickedness.
But Josiah didn't continue the pattern. "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left" (2 Kings 22:2). At eighteen, he began seeking God seriously. At twenty, he started purging Judah of idolatry. At twenty-six, during temple repairs, workers discovered the Book of the Law that had been lost for decades. When it was read to Josiah, he tore his clothes in grief, recognizing how far Judah had strayed from God's commands.
Josiah implemented radical reforms. He destroyed altars to Baal, smashed Asherah poles, tore down high places where people worshiped false gods, and reinstituted Passover, which hadn't been properly celebrated in generations. Second Kings 23:25 records: "Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did - with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses."
Josiah couldn't change the past. His grandfather and father had ruined Judah spiritually. But he could determine what happened during his reign. He chose reformation over continuation, repentance over repetition, faithfulness over family patterns. The result was the greatest spiritual revival in Judah's history.
You're twenty-one days into October. You can't change the first three weeks. They're history. But you can determine what happens in the final ten days. Will you continue failed patterns or adjust based on what you've learned? Will you coast to the end or finish strong? Will you repeat what didn't work or try something different?
The ten days remaining are enough for meaningful completion. Not enough to accomplish everything you didn't do in the first twenty-one days, but enough to finish well rather than fading badly. What's the one thing that matters most for these final days? Focus there. Don't try to do everything. Identify what matters and pursue that relentlessly for ten days.
Maybe it's repairing a relationship you've neglected. Maybe it's completing a task you've postponed. Maybe it's practicing a discipline you've abandoned. Maybe it's addressing a sin you've tolerated. Whatever it is - the thing that if you did it would make October feel complete despite earlier failures - do that for the remaining ten days.
Josiah couldn't fix everything. Judah's spiritual damage was extensive. But he could lead faithfully during his reign. His reforms didn't prevent eventual exile - God had already determined Judah's fate based on accumulated sin. But Josiah's faithfulness delayed judgment and brought revival during his lifetime. He did what he could with the time he had. That's all God asks.
Twenty-one days into October, you're three-quarters through. The month is closer to ending than continuing. You can spend the final ten days lamenting the first twenty-one or using them purposefully. You can finish strong or fade badly. You can complete something meaningful or coast to the end.
Josiah couldn't change his father's failures. You can't change October 1-21. But you can determine how October 22-31 unfolds. That's enough to make the month meaningful. Finish well. Ten days is enough.
