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GYC Northwest

Dee Casper

When You Don’t Understand

This morning we're going to be addressing the topic of waiting and not understanding why God has us in these holding patterns.

What is God doing when it seems like nothing is happening?

We're asking the question, why do we wait?

And we're gonna be looking at prophecy this evening and maybe from a different lens.

The book of Daniel is a tremendous blessing to us, not just because of its prophetic insight, but also because of the stories.

There are stories within the book of Daniel that are instructive to people who are living in times of prophetic significance.

And I think what we're going to hear this morning is going to be a blessing.

This study has absolutely rocked my striped socks off, and I hope it's half the blessing to you that it's been to me.

Father in heaven, thank you for this privilege to pray.

As we're about to see, this is our lifeline in moments like this.

And as we're seeking to understand why we wait and we find ourselves in situations where we don't understand, God, I'm asking you to speak into that space today.

In the name of Jesus, I'm praying that you would minister to us.

There are hurting hearts in this room today, Lord.

There are people who are waiting, and we don't understand why.

And so I pray that you would do something that exceeds my expectations, and I pray as Moses prayed that you would show us your glory.

So this morning's message is entitled, When You Don't Understand.

In Daniel chapter 8, if you'd like to turn there, we'll be spending most of our time in chapters 8, 9, and 10 of the book of Daniel.

But we're going to go to the book of Daniel, chapter 8.

He's seen God work for him while he's there, which has been an encouragement to him in a discouraging situation.

But something has happened here in Daniel 8 that really, really unsettles him.

First of all, the people of God are under attack by the little horn that he sees in the vision.

For those who aren't aware, Daniel 8 is the vision of the ram and the he-goat and eventually the 4 horns, eventually the little horn, and it warring against the people of God.

And it doesn't make matters better, right?

It's already a troubling vision to see the saints threatened by this oppressive power, but it doesn't make matters better when, Based upon how bad this seems, 1 of the holy ones in vision asked, well, how long is that going to go on?

And 1 of the other… 1 of the holy ones he sees in the vision is also stirred and wrestles with how long is this going to go on?

And the answer that's given is under 2, 300 days or evenings and mornings and the sanctuary shall be cleansed.

A more detailed interpretation is given to him throughout Daniel 8 later on regarding the primary part of the vision of the ram, the he goat, and all of that part.

And he's told that this is going to apply until the time of the end.

But he's… the only thing he's told about the 2300 days is that it's true.

And this troubles him deeply because he's not given much explanation.

Now in Daniel's context, the people of God are already under attack when Jerusalem was sacked and they're taken captive, so he can partially be wondering if all this stuff about what's happening towards the saints is happening right now, and is this now or is this later?

But the angel again later tells him that the vision, the part of the vision with the 2300 days is just true.

But the stuff about the oppression of the saints is going to happen until the time of the end.

He doesn't understand, and it's weighing heavily upon him at the end of this chapter, especially this time thing.

He's really, really, really wrestling with this.

And then we get to verses 8 to 15, or 15 to 18.

It says, Then it happened when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning that suddenly there stood before me 1 having the appearance of a man.

And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Uli who called and said, Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.

So he came near where I stood and when he came I was afraid and I fell on my face.

But he said to me again, Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end." Now there's 2 different words used in the original language for vision here.

1 is referring largely to the large chunk of Daniel chapter 8 and the little horn of what they're going to do.

But then there's another vision, word for vision, that we don't see when we read it in English.

It just says vision, vision, vision, vision, vision.

But in the original language, it's the word mara, which is referring specifically to the 2, 300 days and the revelation of what he got there.

So he's told, Understand son of man, the vision refers to the time of the end, the first portion, not the 2300 days.

Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground, but he touched me and I stood upright." Daniel is so overwhelmed by what he's seen and by what he doesn't understand that it gets the best of him physically.

That what you're going through is so stressful and so overwhelming that physically you got nothing left.

This is where Daniel is in Daniel 8, okay?

Just because of the vision that he's given.

But God is willing to send help to touch us and to pick us up when we're overwhelmed, amen?

And this theme continues throughout the future chapters that we're gonna read here.

The stuff about the little horn is for the time of the end, but this 2300 day thing is just getting to him, guys.

It's really weighing on him and it's overwhelming him.

And now that we have the context from Daniel 8, we're getting into Daniel 9 now.

And Daniel 9 takes place literally 15 years after the vision of Daniel 8.

He has been overwhelmed and crushed out by this for 15 years.

And it's difficult and we don't want to admit this, but there are times when the call of God is going to require us to wait.

Abraham waited 25 years for the child of promise.

Daniel is now 15 years into waiting, not for a promise to be fulfilled, but to even understand what's stressing him out inside.

To even make sense of what is overwhelming him.

We're talking about clarity and understanding.

Even after God has sent an angel to help him, he's still struggling.

To wrestle with this tension of not having certainty in something that you know is clearly important, but you don't understand it.

He misunderstood what was being referred to with the sanctuary being cleansed, and this is what makes this so challenging for him.

Because he, and we're going to get to this in a moment, but he thought that their exile in Babylon was only going to be for 70 years.

And Daniel ends up living through that entire time period.

And so when he's thinking, and it's helpful for us, like some of us maybe we pace ourselves emotionally.

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When You Don’t Understand

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