When its Quiet, Day 16

Text if you need me? Prayer or just need encouragement…

Ever notice how the loudest seasons can still feel empty? We lean into a quieter path by tracing the birth of John the Baptist in Luke 1:57–66, where a silenced father, a surprising name, and a community’s awe reveal how God grows faith away from the noise. I share why Zechariah’s months without words weren’t punishment but protection, a sacred hush that stripped out second-guessing and made space for trust to deepen.

As we prepare our hearts for Christ, John’s birth reminds us that God’s timing is precise, His mercy personal, and His peace best heard when the volume drops. If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs a breath of quiet, and leave a review so others can find these Advent reflections too.

Click Here for Devotional Link

Download Birth of Jesus E-book Here - Scroll and download

Follow me on Substack for application questions & reflection on each episode. Share your comments

Study of Ruth - Click Here

Study of Judges - Click Here

Study of Joshua - Click Here

Follow Jessi Morgan on social:
TikTok - @Jessimorganfaith
IG - @Jessimorganfaith
Website: www.jessimorganhome.com/devotions
Contact: [e-mail]
Podcast Music by: prazkhanal
Song: Whip

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello, hello.
This is Jesse Morgan Devotionsfor the Christian Heart Podcast.
Welcome, welcome.
This year I'm bringing my 25-dayChristmas devotional to life in
a new way.
Beginning on day 11 through day25, each devotional entry now
has a matching mini podcastepisode, a simple 8 to 10 minute
reflection designed to help youslow down and truly sit with the

(00:22):
story of Jesus' birth.
Each episode clearly follows thesame day as the written
devotional, so day 11 in thebook is day 11 on the podcast
and so forth.
My hope is that these dailyaudio reflections make the
journey to Christmas feel evenmore personal, peaceful, and
meaningful.
Thank you for being here.
Let's go.

(00:45):
When it's quiet, the birth ofJohn the Baptist, Episode 83,
day 16.
Key passage, Luke 1, 57 through66.
For it says, When it was timefor Elizabeth to have her baby,
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relativesheard that the Lord had shown

(01:07):
her great mercy, and they sharedher joy.
On the eighth day they came tocircumcise the baby, and they
were going to name him after hisfather Zechariah.
But his mother spoke up andsaid, No, his name is to be
called John.
They said to her, There is noone among your relatives who has
that name.
Then they made signs to hisfather to find out what he would

(01:31):
like to name the child.
He asked for a writing tablet,and to everyone's astonishment
he wrote, His name is John.
Immediately his mouth wasopened, and his tongue set free,
and he began to speak, praisingGod.
All the neighbors were filledwith awe, and throughout the
hill country of Judah, peoplewere talking about all these

(01:54):
things.
Everyone who heard this wonderedabout it, asking, What then is
this child going to be?
For the Lord's hand was withhim.
So let me start off like thisfor today's lesson.
Sometimes we are our own worstenemy.
Can I get an amen on that?

(02:14):
Amen, right?
Sometimes we talk ourselvesright out of opportunities.
Sometimes we add more stresssimply by talking.
And honestly, it usually it'susually not the best idea to ask
five different people for theiropinion.
The more opinions, the moretalking, the more researching,

(02:37):
the more confused you become.
Before you know it, you're downa rabbit hole.
We've all been there.
Today in day 16 of thisdevotional, we're focusing on
the birth of John the Baptist,as I just read.
John was born to Elizabeth andZechariah, and of course their
neighbors and elders came tocelebrate, as it says in
Scripture, because everyone knewthis birth was a miracle.

(02:59):
Elizabeth was advanced in age,and yet God blessed her with a
child.
When it came time to name thebaby, everyone assumed it would
be named after their father, hisfather, Zechariah.
And as it said earlier,Elizabeth immediately said, No,
his name is John.
Naturally, no one took herseriously.
They wanted the father'sconfirmation, because we know
the men, man, men always camefirst back at this time frame.

(03:24):
But remember, Zechariah had beensilent since his encounter with
the angel Gabriel, and silencedand was silenced because of his
lack of faith when they when hewhen Gabriel told him that
Elizabeth was going to conceive.
So for nine months, Zechariahcannot speak, and many scholars
believe he may not have beenable to hear either.

(03:47):
Imagine that.
All the noise of the world shutoff, his doubts silenced, his
fears silenced, his opinionssilenced.
Just him, God and the quiet.
Forced stillness, forcedreflection, forced faith.
So when they asked Zechariahwhat the baby's name should be,

(04:09):
he wrote it down and he said,John.
And immediately, immediately,his his hearing and voice was
restored.
Everyone was shocked.
This moment made people ask,What is this child going to
become?
as it said in Scripture.
And what an introduction, what abirth story for John the
Baptist, right?
Zechariah got his voice back,and the first thing he did was

(04:29):
what?
Praise God.
His faith was refined during asilent season.
God removed every distractionthat could have interfered with
the promise he was bringingforth.
Can you imagine if Zechariah hadnot listened, had not been
silenced?
How could he have stressed nothow, but he could have, you
know, stressed Elizabeth out.

(04:50):
He could have spoken fear overher pregnancy.
He could have tried to rebuke orquestion what God was doing the
entire time.
Sometimes silence is thegreatest protection God has gone
can give us.
Silence forces us to lean onfaith and not noise.
Silence magnifies what God isdoing.

(05:11):
Silence removes the voices thatwould have derailed us in the
first place.
So let me ask you this.
When you're enduring something,are you talking to everyone?
Are you listening to everyone?
Or are you going silent andletting God handle it?
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for yoursilence.

(05:31):
Thank you for teaching us thatnoise isn't always the path to
blessing.
Thank you for the story of Johnand for how beautifully it
prepares us for the birth ofChrist.
Help us to embrace the quietmoments, trust your timing,
appreciate Jesus Christ in hisbirth, and let the rest in your

(05:53):
voice be heard above others.
Father, we love you and wepraise you in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Love you all.
Till next time.
Thank you for listening.
This episode is part of myChristmas devotional series
inspired by my writtendevotional, 25 Days Till
Christmas, a scriptured-filledjourney preparing our hearts to

(06:16):
celebrate the birth of Jesus.
I invite you to read along andreflect on his story in a deeper
way.
Details in the show notes forthe written devotional.
And it also says in Scripture,glory to God in the highest, and
on earth, peace, goodwilltowards men.
Luke 2, 14.
And don't miss the nextreflection in this Christmas
series by subscribing to thepodcast to continue walking

(06:38):
through God's Word this season.
And a little bit about me.
I'm Jesse Morgan, wife, mom, anddevotional writer and podcaster
who loves sharing biblicalencouragement and the hope we
find in Jesus.
Till next time, Jesse Morgansigning off.