But There Is a God - Identity In Exile | A Study in Daniel | Jeff Gokee

Sep 28, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When the Crawl Space Floods Your Life

A neglected crawl space becomes a metaphor for ignoring God’s warnings. Water seeps in slowly, warping foundations and breeding mold, just as disobedience erodes spiritual clarity. What starts as minor neglect escalates into costly repair—a sagging house mirroring a sagging faith. God’s law isn’t arbitrary; it’s the sump pump for the soul. Ignoring His voice leads to exile, but restoration begins with humility. [00:45]

“Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.”
(Hosea 6:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you dismissed God’s gentle warnings, assuming “it’s fine”? What “mold” has grown in the hidden spaces of your heart?

Day 2: Fool Around and Find Out

Rebellion isn’t a harmless experiment—it’s touching the oven despite the burn. Israel’s cycle of defiance led to captivity, a downward spiral of consequences. God’s laws aren’t restrictions but guardrails for flourishing. Yet we test boundaries, mistaking grace for permission. Exile isn’t punishment; it’s the bruise that heals. [08:33]

“Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies… But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers.”
(Judges 2:18–19, ESV)

Reflection: What “oven” are you flirting with, convinced you’re the exception? How has God used pain to recalibrate your heart?

Day 3: Calm in the Crawl Space of Crisis

Daniel faced death with “wisdom intact”—no panic, no algorithms, just steady trust. An 18-year-old’s poise before executioners mirrors Jesus calming the storm: “Take heart. It is I.” Chaos demands reactivity; faith chooses paced resilience. The crawl space of crisis reveals who we believe God to be. [15:48]

“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’”
(Matthew 14:27, ESV)

Reflection: When life feels like a sinking house, does your response scream “ghost!” or whisper “Take heart”? What would “wisdom intact” look like today?

Day 4: Paced Resilience in the Long Haul

Sanctification isn’t a sprint—it’s walking with God through 15 years of “nonstop hard.” Daniel’s friends prayed together; isolation breeds despair. Suffering alone is un-American but all too human. The church is God’s chiropractor: hurting to heal, bruising to restore. [20:50]

“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’”
(John 6:68–69, ESV)

Reflection: Who have you invited into your “crawl space” this week? Where has self-reliance isolated you from Christ’s body?

Day 5: The Stone Not Carved by Human Hands

Human kingdoms rise and fall—gold, silver, bronze, iron. But God’s kingdom arrives as a stone, unimpressive yet unstoppable. Algorithms promise control; the cross demands surrender. Daniel’s vision ends with a mountain filling the earth: Christ’s reign, where exile and empires dissolve. [36:20]

“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed… It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.”
(Daniel 2:44, ESV)

Reflection: What “kingdom” have you trusted for security—career, politics, savings? How does the stone unmade by hands recalibrate your hope?

Sermon Summary

Daniel 2 begins with an impossible situation, much like a house quietly filling with water under the floor because somebody kept saying, “It’s fine.” God had warned Israel again and again: “I am your God, and you are my people.” Yet rebellion led to exile, and exile exposed the damage underneath. Israel’s story carries the pattern of rebellion, warning, judgment, repentance, and restoration, but Judges shows that the pattern becomes a downward spiral when people keep refusing God’s voice.

Exile does not make God’s people victims of the culture. God places his people in hard, confusing, overwhelming moments on purpose. The church cannot just become an echo behind secular agencies when God has called it to be headlights. Fear, anxiety, and constant reaction reveal an identity crisis, because algorithms, technology, culture, and human approval all want loyalty. Jesus, however, has already purchased that life, and he calls his people light, salt, and a city on a hill.

Daniel enters Nebuchadnezzar’s impossible demand with “prudence and discretion,” with wisdom intact. Daniel does not lose his mind when death is at the door. Daniel stays calm, asks good questions, speaks boldly, and seeks time before the king. Christ’s words in the storm explain Daniel’s posture: “Take heart. It is I. Fear not.” Peace does not come from pretending the storm is small. Peace comes from knowing who stands in the storm.

Daniel also refuses the American instinct to survive alone. Daniel goes to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah and asks them to seek mercy from the God of heaven. Isolation makes people sick, but the ecclesia is a body with many parts. Pain, confusion, marriage trouble, financial pressure, and unanswered mysteries are not meant to be carried in private strength. God’s people need one another to pray, seek mercy, and walk in the hard for a long time with paced resilience.

God reveals the mystery, and Daniel’s first response is praise. Daniel blesses the God who changes times and seasons, removes kings, gives wisdom, and knows what is hidden in darkness. Gratitude lifts the heart beyond the pain tethering it to earth. Daniel then stands before Nebuchadnezzar and says what every anxious heart needs to hear: “But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.”

The statue’s kingdoms rise and fall, but the stone cut without human hands points to Christ’s kingdom. Human power, politics, conquest, and every false security eventually fail. Jesus, the suffering servant, the baby in a barn, the crucified and risen King, establishes the kingdom that will never end. God’s favor does not mean an easy life, but obedience gives courage and favor to proclaim his goodness through furnaces, lions’ dens, and every hard place. Christ’s kingdom is already here and not yet complete, so God’s people can take heart, because the end of the story is known.

Key Takeaways

1. Exile is not victimhood God does not abandon his people in difficult cultural moments. God places them there with purpose, calling them to stand strong rather than cower back. Identity rooted in Christ keeps fear from becoming the thing that defines the heart. [05:22]
2. Wisdom stays calm under pressure Daniel faces an impossible king, an impossible request, and a death sentence with wisdom intact. Christ’s presence does not always remove the storm immediately, but it gives the heart a reason to breathe and take a beat. Pacing through hardship with God forms resilience that panic never can. [19:44]
3. Mystery requires praying community Daniel does not isolate and try to fix everything through personal strength. Daniel brings the crisis to faithful friends and asks them to seek mercy from God together. The body of Christ becomes a place where hidden pain can be named and carried before God. [23:08]
4. Praise reorders the wounded heart Daniel praises God before running to use the answer he received. Praise remembers that God changes seasons, rules over kings, and knows what remains hidden. Gratitude does not deny pain, but it keeps pain from becoming the center of reality. [28:46]
5. God’s kingdom outlasts every empire The kingdoms in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream look powerful, but every one of them falls. The stone without human hands reveals a kingdom built by God alone, fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Human institutions cannot bear the weight of ultimate trust, but Christ’s reign will not collapse.

## [37:45]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:45] - The Crawl Space Warning
[03:06] - Israel’s Exile and Cultural Fear
[06:27] - The Crisis of Identity
[07:59] - Rebellion, Warning, and Restoration
[10:29] - Wounded So God Can Heal
[12:34] - Nebuchadnezzar’s Impossible Demand
[14:45] - Daniel’s Prudence and Discretion
[19:26] - Take Heart, It Is I, Fear Not
[21:28] - Stop Suffering Alone
[27:19] - God Reveals the Mystery
[27:57] - Daniel Responds With Praise
[31:35] - But There Is a God in Heaven
[35:19] - The Stone and Christ’s Kingdom
[39:06] - Seek First the Kingdom

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Daniel 2
“In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter.” Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.” Then Arioch brought Daniel in before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. “This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” [00:00]

Matthew 14:27
“But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” [19:44]

Matthew 6:33
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” [39:06]

Observation questions

What made Nebuchadnezzar’s demand of his wise men impossible, and how did his response raise the stakes for Daniel and his friends? [12:34]
What specific actions did Daniel take after learning about the king’s decree, and who did he involve in the crisis? [15:25]
What words describe Daniel’s manner when he spoke to Arioch, and what do those words show about his posture under pressure? [14:45]
After God revealed the mystery, what did Daniel do before going to Nebuchadnezzar, and what does his praise emphasize about God? [28:46]

Interpretation questions

Daniel’s exile was the result of Israel’s rebellion, yet Daniel was not portrayed as helpless or defeated. How can difficult cultural moments be both painful and purposeful for God’s people? [04:01]
Jesus tells frightened disciples to take heart because he is present with them. How does Christ’s presence change the way a believer can face a problem that is still unresolved? [19:44]
Daniel asked his friends to seek God’s mercy with him instead of trying to solve the mystery alone. Why is shared prayer especially important when someone faces a problem with no clear human solution? [22:38]
The stone not cut by human hands destroys the kingdoms represented in the statue. What does this reveal about the limits of political power, human achievement, and other sources of security compared with Christ’s kingdom? [36:17]

Application questions

Where have fear, anxiety, or constant reaction been shaping the way you view your life or the culture around you? What would it look like to remember that you are placed here by God rather than merely trapped by circumstances? [05:22]
Think of a current pressure point—work, finances, family, health, marriage, or uncertainty about the future. What would “prudence and discretion” look like in your next conversation or decision instead of panic? [16:37]
Is there a burden you have been carrying by yourself that needs to be named before trusted believers? Who could you ask this week to seek God’s mercy with you in prayer? [23:08]
When God provides direction, help, or even just enough strength for the next step, is your first instinct to move on quickly or to praise him? What simple practice of gratitude could help reorder your heart this week? [27:57]
What human source of wisdom or security—an algorithm, news cycle, technology, money, relationships, or personal control—most competes for your trust? How can you seek God’s wisdom first in that area? [33:43]
Jesus calls his people to seek first God’s kingdom rather than be ruled by anxiety over daily needs. What is one specific way you can put God’s kingdom and righteousness first this week? [39:23]
Christ’s kingdom will not collapse, even though every human kingdom eventually does. How does knowing the end of the story give you courage to live faithfully in the hard places you face now? [37:45]

Sermon Clips

38s

#AskForHelp

“Some of you just need to go to somebody today and say, I need help. I need prayer. I'm hurting. Pray with me. mercy from God with me concerning this thing that I don't understand. This marriage thing I don't understand, this relationship thing I don't understand, this friendship thing, this job thing, this school thing, this, I this financial thing. I need your help. I need you to join me in my pain, in my mystery, and I need you to go on behalf of God almighty on our behalf together. I need you. You need one another.”

31s

#WisdomInExile

“And Daniel models that for us. And so what do we do in exile? We need wisdom intact. When stuff doesn't make sense, and I don't know if you have watched the news recently, it doesn't make sense. Right? But instead of you losing your minds or doubling down on some algorithm that's only pitching you death and decay, why don't we pick up some wisdom intact?”

37s

#CourageousFaith

“And then we need boldness. We're not afraid. We're not do you remember? Our king went to the cross. Our Jesus went the pioneer perfecter of our faith stood in a garden and said, take this away from me. Not my will, but yours be done. The cross it is. That's our example. That's the way we're living our life. Daniel's like, that's where I'm going. That's where I'm going. And then we need each other. And last but not least, and most importantly, we need the Lord.”

39s

#PrayTogether

“And what Daniel does is something that we need to learn from, and it's this. He goes to his friends. He goes to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and he goes, hey, guys. There's a really heavy situation going on. And he literally says this. He said, we need to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery. We need to seek mercy from God. Guys, we gotta come together. I need your help. Can you just pray with me? Can we pray together? Can we seek God together? Can I just tell you, stop suffering alone?”

38s

#PacedResilience

“Walk with me in the hard, and walk with me a long time in the hard. This is what Daniel's doing. I'm walking with God. God's gonna reveal what we need to do. I can't answer this. I don't know how to fix with it. But I wonder if you walk with the Lord in the midst of your hard, that you might find a paced resilience. You find yourself strong, not all over the place, not freaking out, not fearful, but paced because he's with you. He loves you. He sees you. He knows you. And that what we typically do as Americans when things get hard is we isolate.”

40s

#MoreThanConquerors

“We don't know who we are or whose we are. And so we're just wandering around hoping that someone will guide us in leading truth. And I want you to know this without a shadow of a doubt. There are people, and there are mechanisms, and there are technologies that would love to steal your loyalty. They want to frame up your identity because they want your loyalty. They want your life. But your life was given sacrifice by Jesus Christ on the cross, which means Paul says you are more conqueror. That's who you are.”

35s

#YouBelong

“I think what has happened for so many of us is we just cower at all the crazy, confusing, overwhelming things that the culture throws our way. And I just want you to know you're not a victim of the culture. You're exactly where you need to be. You belong. In fact, you woke up this morning and you had to be born into this period of church history because you matter. And you have said to maybe you would say back to me, you say this all the time when you come teach us. Yes. And guess what? You're not the only church I'm saying it to. Because we need to wake up. You matter. You belong.”

41s

#GodsGrace

“I despise that term. So let me I'm I'm gonna solve it for you. It's not fair. not fair. You got people in this country going, it's not fair. You got people in this country going, not fair. You got people in this house, some going, it's not fair. According to who? If we want fairness, we're all dead. It's actually God's grace and mercy that allows us to go through these times of pain and suffering. Why? Because he loves us, and he's trying to wake us up. Wake us up that he is God. He's always been God. We'll always be God. He is sovereign over all, and he wants you to see him.”

22s

#KingdomHope

“All of man's efforts and powers were will in the end be uprooted by the suffering savior, the lamb of God who defeated death and reestablishes kingdom both here on earth and in heaven. You know this, that God isn't just concerned about your today, your problem. He is constantly informing you about tomorrow.”

32s

#NotAVictim

“I think God very clearly has laid out for us what to do, who we are, and where we'd be. And yet, in exile, in in the season where so often we don't feel like we know our place or what's going on, we become victims to the culture. We become victims to the circumstances or the history that we find ourselves in. And I and I just want to frame this up for you. This hopefully, this is helpful for you. You are not a victim to the culture in which you find yourself in.”

34s

#FaithOverFear

“We don't see him freaking out. He's going like, look. This is a situation. It's very difficult, but we're gonna have to figure something out. This is a great model for us. And you have to really be you really have to sit in the mirror and go, why is it that every time something's difficult in my life, I lose my mind? What does that say about me? What does that say about what I believe in? And again, we're human. He empathizes with our humanity, but let's just be honest with ourselves. Why is that?”

41s

#BoldFaith

“Do you know that's the kind of presence we're supposed to be in this society? In the midst of all the confusion, all the weird, that we're not people are like, what are we gonna do? We're just like, hey. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. I got some questions. I got some thoughts. And then here's the other thing I I think is so fascinating is that he has a boldness in the face of death. He's talking with the guy that's supposed to kill him. Right? He's just going, hold on, bro, real quick before you kill me. I set an appointment with the king? I'm gonna go ahead and enter. Like, he's literally just bold in it. He's not worried. He's not afraid.”

62s

#CommunityOverIsolation

“I gotta go figure this out on my own. I gotta go in and figure it out. I gotta solve this on my own. And if I'm honest, I'm telling you this is the confession of my heart. I just spent most of my life surviving individualistically because I got it. I'll figure it out. I'm strong enough. Oh, our family needs more money? Don't worry. I work a hundred hours a week. Oh, my mom left. Don't worry. I'll I'll take over. Dad, what do you want? Oh, job's not working out? Let's see. I'll find another job. Right? It's just, you know what I don't do? I don't sit down with the community of God and go, I need help. I'm hurting. I'm sad. I'm bummed. Because that's so un American. No. No. No. We make it to the top on our own. Our own personal success, my personal plan. So when things get hard, guess what we do? We isolate. And as a result of that isolation, we have gotten sick.”

29s

#WalkWithGod

“He's just paced in his resilience. You know, that was a phrase that the Lord gave me. I was asking the Lord a year ago. Lots was going on in our family. Again, our family's been through, like, fifteen years of, like, nonstop hard. And you some of you know what that feels like. And I just pray the Lord like, I'm tired. I don't know what to do with this anymore. And the Lord gave me these two words, paced resilience, which is this, walk with me in the hard.”

34s

#LiveWithPurpose

“That's why you're here. We need to stop cowering back and going, oh my gosh. It's so hard. Do you hear about the oil prices? Do you hear about the market? You stop. You're where you need to be. This is where he has you. You belong. And it's you stepping in and going, wait a second. I'm not just gonna react to whatever the culture throws my way. I need to be proactive because that's the God I serve. And as a result of this, we have this crisis in our identity.”

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