Be Quiet
But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.” Luke 1:13-20
There was a time in my career I was contemplating leaving my job. My career progress was seemingly stalled, and I became very hesitant to make decisions that normally I did without thinking. It was a time I felt like maybe my welcome was worn out and it was time to move on. Even though she never really told me or even hinted at what I might do, my wife seemed resigned that it might very well be time as well. So, when I had a conversation with one of my best friends, I was resigned to moving on. However, she told me something I would forever be grateful for. She thought it would be best to be quiet and fight through the storm. Normally, I would think nothing of it, but at that time, I was looking for a glimmer of hope as to why I should stay. Thus, I decided to follow her advice, and fought through it. The following years would become the very best of my career, and I continue to grow through it all. Sometimes, you must listen to a voice you trust and simply be quiet.
We live in a world where the quietest voice often gets drowned out. We lose sight of where we are supposed to go, and the other noises become so loud that we cannot hear ourselves think. However, I have learned that the quietest voices are often the ones you need to listen to. They might have the simplest things to say but maybe the wisest as well. Trust the process. Stay faithful. Slow down. Do it now. Be still. Those are all phrases we have heard at various points in our life. Yet, we often push against it because we are not attuning to it. However, if we remain faithful to that very voice, it will be all right.
Sometimes, we need to listen to God and simply be quiet. Listening to a sermon over the weekend, I got a unique perspective on verses that I had heard numerous times. The birth of John the Baptist, the one who would prophecy the coming of Jesus Christ, is often overlooked because, well, Jesus is kind of a big deal. However, the birth of John is amazing as well. An angel comes to Zechariah and tells him that his wife will conceive a child. Now both he and Elizabeth are quite old, and as we see Zechariah was quite skeptical. After all, his wife was unable to conceive (see Luke 1:7). After some back and forth, the angel shushes him for not just the conversation but until his wife conceives. To put this in perspective, Zechariah has been a faithful servant of God, and for what most would call a reasonable question, he is told to be quiet for near six months! Zechariah, after the birth of his son and the naming of him, “Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God.” Luke 1:64 (NIV) Imagine that! We are often focused on the things we want, and there is nothing wrong with working for those things. However, God always has a plan, and sometimes, we need to trust what He has in store over what we or others may be telling us.
Embracing quiet is never easy, particularly in a world where everyone has something to say. We often find ourselves looking for any kind of verbal answer. However, there is a great degree of wisdom that goes to finding quiet time. Jesus said, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6 (NIV) Thus, there are some clear benefits spiritually for ensuring quiet time with God. More importantly, it is important that we find quiet time with God so we can hear when He speaks to us. Let us work toward talking a little less about and listening a little more to God. Do you have a quiet place to hear from God? What steps can you take to listen to Him more? My prayer is that we listen to God more and learn to be quiet. Amen.