Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts

Transcript

"We shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion."

Welcome to Scripture for Your Inner Outcasts. Today is March 13th, 2026, Friday of the Third Week of Lent. 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.

Hey, good to be with you on this Friday of the Third Week of Lent. I'm looking at this passage from Hosea, Hosea 14. And we have the Lord turning to his people, right, deciding to forgive them. You know, the people are, in this case, it sounds like being oppressed in Assyria or by the Assyrians. You know, they're struggling. And it says, "We shall say no more, 'Our god,' to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion." So the people are turning to God and saying, we're not going to turn to our own work or idols, anything we can make, because we are orphans and we turn to you for compassion. So we know that each one of us, we're an orphan, as in exile. I'm an orphan as an exile. I might feel abandoned. I might feel lost. I might feel like I'm not good enough. Right. That you know, my sins and my mistakes and my struggling, you know, has rendered me unworthy. Then we hear this, this passage in Hosea, the Lord says, "I will heal their defection. I will love them freely. For my wrath is turned away from them. I will be like the dew for Israel. He shall blossom like the lily. He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar and put forth his shoots. His splendor shall be like the olive tree and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar. Again they shall dwell in his shade and raise grain. They shall blossom like the vine. And his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon." Wow! These words are so powerful and we need to receive them in our hearts. He heals our defection, no matter how exiled or turned away we are.

He heals that defection. He loves freely. His wrath is turned away. He's not angry. In fact, he sees you as a blossom, like the lily that you can blossom. You can be like the strong Lebanon cedar. You will have the splendor of the olive tree. You have fragrance like the Lebanon cedar. And then you will dwell in a shade and blossom like the vine. Your wine will be famous. You will be that desirable, that good. This is how he sees you. You might feel exiled. You might feel lost. You might feel down. You might be troubled. You might be depressed. Who knows? This is how God sees you. This is what God wants for you. He says, "Let him who is wise understand these things. Straight are the paths of the Lord. In them the just walk." So in the responsorial Psalm it is said, "I am the Lord your God. Hear my voice." This is his plea. "Hear my voice. In distress you called and I rescued you. I answered you in thunder, I tested you. Hear, my people." Do you not hear me? This is God calling to you, pleading. If only my people would hear me. "I would feed them with the best of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would fill them." This is our God calling to us. See if we can answer him. Let's see if we can turn to him with love, offering our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind, and all of our strength. So I just pray for you this day. I pray that this will be a day of receiving this love that God wants to give us.

If today's episode resonates with you, you can find similar content at Souls and Hearts. Thanks for joining us and we hope to see you again tomorrow.

We pray all these things through his mother. Our Lady, Untier of Knots, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. And Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.