Here is today’s devotion to start your day.
Available now at Power, Love & Miracles:
Saints, Sinners, and Scandals, Joseph: The Quiet Strength of Righteousness [PLM+]
A Prophecy that Includes Us: Joel. The Bible Unplugged podcast, episode 64
Sunset’s Dawn, Part 12- Jake has a dark side [PLM+]
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Scripture: Matthew 1:19
“Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.”
Reflection
Joseph doesn’t get many lines in the Christmas story. He speaks no recorded words in Scripture. And yet, his actions thunder with righteousness.
When Joseph found out Mary was pregnant, he knew the child wasn’t his. In his culture, this should have been a scandal worthy of punishment. But Joseph was a just man—not only in law, but in love. Instead of exposing her, he resolved to quietly break off the engagement.
That’s what he planned—until God interrupted.
In a dream, an angel confirmed what must have sounded absurd: Mary had not been unfaithful. The child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, though not the biological father, was invited into the mystery of the Incarnation.
He didn’t argue. He didn’t announce his obedience with fanfare. He simply did what God told him to do.
He took Mary as his wife. He named the child Jesus. He became the earthly father of the Son of God—not because he understood, but because he trusted.
Sometimes the most powerful obedience is the quiet kind. The kind that doesn’t need to be seen or praised. The kind that costs something—and still says yes.
Joseph’s story is for every person who wants to do the right thing, even when it hurts. His faith was forged in silence, but it shaped salvation’s story.
Centering Prayer
Whispering God,
Teach me to obey in the silence. When no one sees, and no one applauds, let my faith still move. Make me faithful in the small things, trusting that quiet obedience is the soil where You offer world-changing love. – Amen
Practice for Today
Find one act of quiet obedience you can practice today—something that honors God without recognition or reward.
Journaling Prompt
What is God asking me to do quietly, without fanfare, but with full faith?
Blessing for the Day
Walk in the way of Joseph: steady, faithful, unseen.
Let your righteousness be wrapped in mercy.
Let your obedience speak louder than your explanations.
And trust that God is shaping the story through your yes.
Pray As You Go
Breathe in: Not my will…
Breathe out: … but Yours be done