137 You Exiles Are Protected
Transcript
"But Saul's son Jonathan, who was very fond of David, told him, 'My father Saul is trying to kill you. Therefore, please be on your guard tomorrow morning. Get out of sight and remain in hiding. I, however, will go out and stand beside my father in the countryside where you are, and will speak to him about you. If I learn anything, I will let you know.'"
Welcome to Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts. Today is Thursday, January 22nd, 2026, the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. Today we are joined by Dr. Gerry Crete, one of the co-founders of Souls and Hearts, the author of the book, Litanies of the Heart and a counselor with his own private practice, Transfiguration Counseling, based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Hello. I'm glad to be with you today. Today we're saying a special prayer for the legal protection of unborn children. Now, the reading that stood out for me was 1 Samuel 18. Here we have Saul the King, getting jealous about David. People were singing and dancing and singing joyful songs and comparing Saul, who slayed thousands, with David, who had slayed tens of thousands. And so Saul gets angry and decides that, you know, he wants to take David out because he's jealous. Now, in this passage, we also hear about Jonathan. Jonathan, Saul's son, is close to David. So in this passage we hear this. "But Saul's son Jonathan, who was very fond of David, told him, 'My father Saul is trying to kill you. Therefore, please be on your guard tomorrow morning. Get out of sight and remain in hiding. I, however, will go out and stand beside my father in the countryside where you are, and will speak to him about you. If I learn anything, I will let you know.'" What is amazing here is that David becomes an exile. He has to hide to protect himself. And I know that we often feel that way too. We often feel that we have to hide, that we have to stay apart from others, that there are dangers, there are threats. Maybe there's overwhelming emotions of fear, of shame, sadness. We just can't handle it. I want to invite you also to notice that you may have a Jonathan within you, a protector that would protect you, that would allow you to come forward when the time is right, because like Jonathan, who knows David, we know the beauty that is within you.
We know that you have so much to offer. We know that you are a beautiful resource created by God, that you don't need to remain in hiding. In fact, you are being called to be a king. You are being called to sing, to dance, to play, to be yourself. So we just take a moment and remind ourselves what David says in the psalm, Psalm 56 for today. "In God I trust, I shall not fear." Sometimes it does feel like people will trample upon me, their attacks and adversaries and fights. But we are reminded, "In God I trust, I shall not fear. I know that God is with me, and God in whose promise I glory. In God I trust without fear, and that I am bound, O God, by vows to you, for you have rescued me from death." Just notice that. Notice how you've been rescued from death. Hear that alleluia response before the Gospel. "Our Savior, Jesus Christ, has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel." And that is to every part of us, even the exiles, even you, that you are being called to something beautiful and good and you're not alone. You will have protectors to support you, just as David had Jonathan, and just be reminded that God has great plans for you, just as he did for David. And so I just thank you for being with me during this time.
Listeners can find more content from Dr. Gerry Crete, including a link to his book, The Litanies of the Heart, in the description of today's show. Thanks for joining us and we hope to see you again tomorrow.
As we get ready to pause for today on this reflection, we just remember our patroness, Mary, our Mother, Untier of Knots, pray for us. Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse, pray for us. And Saint John the Baptist, pray for us. And pray for all the children, unborn children, that they would be protected, your hand, like Jonathan, would be there to protect them.
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