Thriving in Exile
Over the last four weeks at Central Youth, we were in a series called Aliens: Thriving in Exile. Below is a summary of the lessons looking at the stories of exile in Scripture and what that means for our lives today.
There’s a pattern that runs through the entire story of Scripture, and once you see it, you start noticing it everywhere—including in your own life.
Israel is trapped in Egypt, crying out for freedom. They want out; out of oppression, out of pain, out of a life that feels small and controlled. God hears them, rescues them, and leads them out. But freedom doesn’t look the way they imagined. Instead of stepping straight into the Promised Land, they find themselves wandering in the wilderness for forty years. No map. No clear destination. Just day after day of uncertainty. But they were never alone.
God’s presence went with them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They couldn’t always see where they were going, but they could always see that God was with them. That truth still matters:
You’re not lost, you’re being led.
Eventually, Israel does reach the Promised Land. And then, astonishingly, they lose it, because of their disobedience and refusal to listen, they’re taken into exile. Once again, they want the same thing they wanted in Egypt: out. Fix it fast. Restore what was lost. Bring us home immediately.
But God sends a message through the prophet Jeremiah (29:5–7) that completely reframes their situation:
“Build houses and live in them… seek the peace of the city where I have sent you.”
God doesn’t say, “Just survive until this is over.” He says, “Live like my people right where you are.” Exile wasn’t a pause button; it was a mission field. God’s Kingdom was not on hold just because the circumstances were hard. God’s people were still called to act like God’s people—faithfully, consistently, differently and that’s exactly what Daniel did. In week three we looked at Daniel chapter one.
When Daniel first appears in Scripture, he isn’t a hero yet, he’s likely a teenager, taken from his home when Babylon conquers Jerusalem and forces him into exile. He doesn’t choose this life; it’s imposed on him overnight. Babylon’s strategy is subtle but effective: change his surroundings, retrain his thinking, even rename him after their gods. All this with the hope that, little by little, he’ll forget who he really is. But Daniel “resolves” ahead of time not to compromise, making a quiet, faithful decision to honor God even in something as ordinary as food. That early resolve sets the pattern for his entire life: steady obedience, deep trust, and an identity rooted in God rather than the culture around him.
Daniel doesn’t protest loudly or try to escape Babylon. He lives faithfully within it. He prays consistently, acts with wisdom, and lets God define him, not the empire. And God honors that faithfulness, working behind the scenes long before the lions’ den or the fiery furnace ever appear.
That kind of faith still speaks.
Israel’s story is one long cycle of exile and return. Over and over again, they forget God, make destructive choices, experience loss—and then turn back to Him. And every time, God pursues them, loves them. reminds them: you still have a purpose. I sent you here for a reason. But Israel’s story doesn’t end in exile.
In Ezra 1, God does something only He can do: He stirs the heart of a pagan king, Cyrus, to send God’s people home and to fund the rebuilding of the temple. God’s Kingdom has never been about escape alone;
it has always been about restoration.
When Nehemiah returns, he doesn’t say, “At least we’re free now.” He says, “Let us rebuild.” And even after the walls were restored and life began to stabilize, Scripture reminds us that the Promised Land itself was never the final destination. Hebrews 11:13–16 tells us that God’s people “admitted that they were foreigners and strangers on earth… longing for a better country, a heavenly one.”
Even at home in the Promised Land, they knew this wasn’t the end of the story. Peter echoes this when he writes, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation… living as foreigners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:9–12). We are called foreigners and exiles not because we disengage from the world, but because our deepest allegiance belongs somewhere else.
We are meant to live fully present; working for good, peace, and restoration while also refusing to let the world define who we are or what ultimately matters. As exiles, we don’t withdraw; we witness. Through steady, faithful lives, we show what it looks like when heaven’s Kingdom is already breaking into earth.
God’s Kingdom isn’t a place we escape to someday. It’s a life we live right now, right where we are. Even in exile, we are on mission. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
And if we’re honest, the parallels to today are hard to miss. The world feels fractured, loud, exhausting, and broken in ways that go far deeper than surface-level problems. Yet Scripture is clear: God still calls His people His own. He still names us. He still gives us an identity rooted in Him. And He still sends us—to bring hope.
That’s what the world needs right now.
A blog from Next Generation Pastor, Rebecca DeLucia.