Dead Reckoning

Sometimes there is a date that gets circled on your calendar in red ink—or scratched haphazardly into the pages of your journal—that feels different. Significant. And you don’t even know why. 

That happened to me recently. 

January 7, 2026. 

It wasn’t totally void of meaning. It was the first day of our church’s 21 Day Fast. But that alone wasn’t enough to make it stand out. I’ve had eleven other first days of the 21 Day Fast, and I can’t name a single date. 

Yet this one felt marked. 

The Question That Started It All 

I started the day reflecting on one question: 

What does it take to experience true change in my life? 

A pretty typical question for someone beginning a spiritual fast. 

I landed on four concepts, jotted them down quickly on the first page of my 2026 journal, and wasn’t at all sure where they would take me. I prayed and wrote, 

“Holy Spirit, what does this mean?” 

Then, confidently, on that fresh, crisp page, I transcribed the first of those concepts: 

This 7th day of January is my Reckoning. 

How do I know this is a pivotal date? 

Because it’s written on handmade paper, in purple ink, from the heart of a woman who desperately wants to know God and all He has for her. 

A Prayer for a Reckoning 

Then I prayed the prayer that would make this day different. 

The prayer that would change everything. 

Lord, let this be my Day of Reckoning—my “come to Jesus” moment—where I let down my façade, stop saying what I think You want to hear, and be raw and honest. 

Search me, God. Reveal the dirt and grime caked in the dark corners. Walk down into the basement where I hide things I don’t want people to see or that I don’t know what to do with. Climb the attic stairs and pull out the hidden treasures I forgot about—or didn’t even know existed. 

The Spill That Interrupted Everything 

I had just finished that prayer. 

Curled up on the couch. 
Ink still drying. 
Journal open. 

I reached for my 2025 journal—and then it happened. 

It was like watching a horror movie in slow motion. 

I knocked over a huge mug of lemon water. I jumped up, sending the entire tray into the air. It landed sideways on the floor. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I watched my precious journals catapult into a sea of ice, water, and lemon slices. 

Immediately, I grabbed the most valuable thing I could think of. 

My journals. 

Like a mother pulling a child from a freezing lake, I soaked up the water from the covers and pages. By the grace of God, the pages weren’t damaged. I can’t say the same for my floor. 

Two huge towels. 
A two-towel mess. 
Ice cubes under the couch. 
A fully mopped living room. 

A Micro Reckoning 

Here’s the point: 

I had a reckoning in a microcosmic way. 

It caught me off guard. 
It wrecked my comfortable, quiet time. 
And it had to be dealt with immediately. 

I couldn’t sweep it under the rug—literally—or pretend it wasn’t there. It required action. 

When the Real Reckoning Came 

Now, you might be thinking: 

“Okay, Missy, I see what you’re saying about moments of reckoning, but it’s a stretch to give an ice-water spill a permanent place in your life story.” 

And you’d be right. 

If that was all that happened. 

I had no more than finished cleaning up and journaling about it when my phone rang. 

It was the hospice nurse. 

I remember her words vividly: 

“This is never the kind of news I like to give over the phone, but your dad is transitioning…” 

Nothing prepares you for those words—even when you see them coming. 

I asked questions. 
I reasoned. 
I hoped. 

But I knew what they meant. 

Your dad is transitioning. 
Your dad is—dying. 

When Life Demands a Reckoning 

There it was. 

My moment of Reckoning. 

It caught me off guard. 

He had a good day yesterday. We celebrated his birthday a little over a month ago—cupcakes and fidget boards. He laughed at something I told him just days before. That hadn’t happened in a while. 

And suddenly, everything changed. 

What about this month of fasting and hearing from God? 
What about my sister in South Carolina? 
Do I tell her to come now—or reassure her this will pass like it has before? 

It had to be dealt with. 

Because life is a vapor. You see it one moment, and it vanishes the next. To wait is to risk losing what you’ve waited for all your life. 

The Spiritual Meaning of Dead Reckoning 

Little did I know, the Holy Spirit was teaching me something called Dead Reckoning. 

If you’re not familiar with the term, don’t feel bad—I wasn’t either. 

Dead reckoning is an old navigation method sailors use when GPS fails, landmarks disappear, and the way ahead can’t be seen. It’s navigation without external confirmation. Your position is determined by your last known location, the direction you’ve been traveling, time, speed, and experience. 

So what does it take to experience true change in your life? 

It takes a Dead Reckoning. 

You realize: 

• You can’t go back. 

• You can’t see ahead. 

• And standing still would be dangerous. 

Saul’s Dead Reckoning (Acts 9) 

Saul—who would later become the Apostle Paul—experienced one of the most dramatic Dead Reckonings in Scripture (Acts 9:1–8). 

He was moving fast toward destruction, passionate about stopping followers of the Way. But everything changed when a blinding Light and a thundering Voice stopped him in his tracks: 

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” 

The encounter wrecked his plans. 

He couldn’t go forward—he couldn’t see. 
He couldn’t go back—that life was over. 
He couldn’t stand still—standing still meant danger. 

He needed a Dead Reckoning. 

Finding Your Last Known Location 

A Dead Reckoning leaves you asking: 

How did I get here? 

Like a ship captain adrift without stars or instruments, you return to your last known location. Sometimes that means going back to the last thing God told you to do—the last time you knew you heard Him clearly—and recalculating from there. 

Are you still moving in the direction He pointed you toward? 

Sometimes walking by faith isn’t certainty. 
It’s fidelity—staying true to the direction you chose when you could still see. 

Keeping Your Heart on Course 

For centuries, people have described life as a journey across an unpredictable sea. Drift is inevitable as long as we’re alive. But it’s never too late to change course. 

The challenge is keeping our hearts fixed on God’s Word. 

“For His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.” 

And as Charles Spurgeon said: 

“Where the heart goes, the life will go.” 

Make sure your heart is set on Him.