We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I have hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:24 NASB.

This morning in our Friday Retreat, we watched a video by John Ortberg about “But God”. And then we shared. And it flows into our chapter, Daniel 9, because whenever we think of all the things we can’t do…But I…am weak, wounded, afraid, uncertain, disbelieving, young, old, powerless, sinful – remember. But God IS. In this chapter, Daniel is living in the reign of Darius. He has read the scrolls of Jeremiah so he understands that the desolation of Jerusalem would last 70 years, and that that time is nearing its end. And Daniel does what Daniel always does. He prays. I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from Your commands and laws. We have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. Lord, You are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame – the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where You have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to You…All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey You. v. 4-7, 11. They were warned in God’s word. Our sinful actions and our turning away from Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, bring their own curses. Realizing this, Daniel confesses his sin and the sins of his people because our God is righteous and we are not; how can we not see that to confess? And God heard. While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision: Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” v. 21-27. In the notes below: “9:26, 27 There has been much discussion on the numbers, times, and events in these verses, and there are three basic views: (1) the prophecy was fulfilled in the past at the desecration of the temple by Antiochus IV Ephiphanes in 168-167 B.C. (see 11:31); (2) it was fulfilled in the past at the destruction of the temple by the Roman general Titus in A.D. 70 when one million Jews were killed; or (3) it is still to be fulfilled in the future under the antichrist (see Matthew 24:15).”

I am not a numbers person. I don’t need to be. What I do know, as we shared this morning, is that I am not in control. As I try to control people or outcomes for me or for them, my stress level soars and my anxiety grows. But God….Remember my sharing with you that verse that gives me trouble…But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9. I am weak and I have weaknesses that my inability to control anything well, makes glaringly obvious. But God – His power is made perfect in my weakness and I realize all over again why I need to keep turning to Him. And we are all of us weak and we all of us sin. That’s why Daniel prayed as he did, and why we need to pray as well for all of us for our sins and weaknesses so glaringly obvious to God who knows exactly what we need. Do you still now know, do you still not want to consider what God sees today as well as in days past? Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Colossians 3:5-11. And then…Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:15-17. Whenever you feel overwhelmed remember…But God – and you will return to the center of all things, Creator God! He can and He will!