When God Speaks In The Quiet...

There’s a question I want you to sit with this week: How does God speak to you? 

A lot of us expect God to speak in ways that are loud, obvious, and dramatic. We imagine lightning bolts, audible voices, or moments so clear that nobody could ever question them. But one of the surprising themes in the Christmas story is that God doesn’t always speak that way. Sometimes he speaks in the quiet, and if we’re not paying attention, we’ll miss him entirely.

A quiet man in a loud story...

In my sermon this past Sunday, we looked at Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, and we noticed something that’s easy to overlook. Joseph is one of the most important people in the Christmas story, and yet he’s almost invisible. We don’t know much about him. We don’t have recorded prayers or speeches from him. We don’t see him standing in the spotlight.

And yet God trusted him with a sacred assignment. God entrusted Joseph with raising the Savior of the world.

Why? Because God has always loved to work through humble, quiet, faithful obedience.

Matthew tells us the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. Mary was betrothed to Joseph, and before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

Matthew 1:20–21 (ESV): ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

God didn’t speak to Joseph with thunder. He didn’t give him a public spectacle. He spoke to him in a dream. Quietly. Personally. Directly.

That’s important for us, because Joseph’s story reminds us that God is not limited to one method. He knows exactly how to reach the heart of the person he’s calling.

I. God Makes Himself Known 

When we read the Bible, our minds jump to the “big” moments. Moses at the burning bush. Sinai shaking with smoke and thunder. Fire falling from Heaven in Elijah’s day. Those moments are real, and they matter.

But if we read closely, we learn something else. God has always spoken in many different ways. Sometimes audibly. Sometimes through angels. Sometimes through dreams and visions. Sometimes through a gentle whisper. Sometimes through his written Word. Often through the steady, faithful work of the Holy Spirit.

One of the most important reminders for believers today is this. If you want to hear God speak, you cannot ignore the primary way he speaks to us - Through His Holy Scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV): ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

When you open your Bible, you’re not reading a dead book. God speaks through His Word. His commands, His warnings, His promises, His comfort, His truth, they're not suggestions. They are God breathed.

And Jesus reminds us that the Holy Spirit continues God’s speaking ministry in the hearts of His people.

John 16:13 (ESV): ¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

So here’s a helpful takeaway. Don’t expect that God will speak only in the dramatic. Don’t ignore the quiet ways he has always used. Don’t wait for an angel when his Word is already open in front of you.

II. Obedience Makes Us Different

Joseph’s story also teaches us that hearing God is not the end goal. Obedience is.

God’s message to Joseph did not make Joseph’s life easier. It made it harder. It didn’t clear up public confusion, it increased it. It didn’t protect Joseph’s reputation, it cost him his reputation. When Joseph took Mary as his wife, he stepped into misunderstanding. He accepted the whispers. He accepted the awkward stares. He accepted the loss of approval that comes when you obey God and the world doesn’t understand.

That’s what obedience does. It marks you. It sets you apart. It separates you from the crowd.

Acts 5:29 (ESV): ²⁹ But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

Joseph lived that verse before it was ever written. He obeyed God rather than men. He feared God more than public opinion. He cared more about the voice of the Lord than the chatter of the crowd.

That’s a question worth asking ourselves.

What has God asked you to do that other people don’t understand?

What step of obedience have you delayed because you’re afraid of what someone might think?

III. God Moves Through The Humble

One of the most striking things about Joseph is how quiet he is. He never speaks a recorded word in Scripture. But his life speaks loudly.

He obeyed immediately. He obeyed repeatedly. He obeyed at personal cost.

Later, in Matthew 2, God warns him again, and Joseph gets up and moves his family. Then God speaks again, and he moves again. Over and over, Joseph responds with quiet obedience. No speeches. No platform. No need for credit.

That’s humility. Not weakness. Not passivity. Humility is strength that is submitted to God. And Jesus promises that God sees what people overlook.

Matthew 6:3–4 (ESV): ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ So that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

If you’ve been serving quietly. If you’ve felt overlooked. If you’ve done what’s right and nobody noticed. Joseph’s story is for you. God sees. God knows. God honors the humble.

Brother Lawrence and the holiness of ordinary things.

The sermon began with the story of Brother Lawrence, a Carmelite friar in 17th century France who worked in the kitchen of a monastery. He wasn’t famous. He wasn’t a preacher. He wasn’t celebrated.

He peeled potatoes, washed dishes, swept floors, and fixed sandals. And he decided to obey God in the small, ordinary, quiet things. He once said, “I can do little things for God,” and even spoke of turning a cake in a pan for the love of God.

That’s what Joseph did too. He didn’t chase attention. He didn’t build a platform. He simply obeyed, and God moved through his obedience in a way that changed the world.

So here’s the question again:

How does God speak to you?
And more importantly, will you listen?

God is not silent. He’s not absent. He is faithful. He speaks through his Word. He guides by his Spirit. He corrects, comforts, warns, and directs.

But the quiet voice of God is often missed by busy hearts.

So this week, slow down long enough to listen. Open your Bible with expectation. Ask the Lord to make his will clear, and then do the hardest part. Obey him, even if it costs you. Obey him, even if nobody understands. Obey him, even if you never get credit for it.

Because God still speaks in the quiet, and he still moves through humble, faithful obedience.

– Pastor Charley Munro
 Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas