Devotional Archives - Joy Margetts

Bible, Christian blog, Christian faith, Christian Writer, Devotional thought, Faith, Grief, Healing, Jesus, Lessons from life

EXPLORING INDEPENDENCE

March 7, 2026March 6, 2026 joymargetts

As regular readers will have gathered my grandchildren are an endless source of inspiration when it comes to this blog! So often God speaks to me through them, and usually it is a really timely word. Today is no different.

A spirit of independence

Our eldest grandson is almost 5. He is at school full time and growing up quick. One of the signs that he is growing up is that he is definitely developing a very strong will. A spirit of independence is emerging – a demand to have things his way. Sometimes what he asks for is reasonable and we can accommodate his wishes. Other times his demands are far less reasonable, and even non-sensical to our adult understanding. We can’t magic up a replacement when he refuses to wear the jumper his mum has packed into his bag. It may not be the jumper he wants to wear – but until we take him home, it is what he must wear. Or get cold.

His frustration sometimes shows itself outwardly. There are loud tears and even a bit of thrashing about. He can’t, or won’t, hear what we are saying when we try to explain why he can’t have exactly what he wants when he wants it. Does it mean that we don’t love him? Of course not. Does it mean that we don’t want him to be happy? No. It just means that he has to accept that not everything is going to go his way.

Image shows a small boy wearing overalls and a woolly hat. He is grinning.

Things don’t always go the way we want

Life is like that. As we grow older, more and more we have to accept that things don’t always go the way we want them too. We have our own desires, our free will, our independence, our ability to make choices for ourselves. But still we don’t always get what we think we want, even when those are good things.

We have a Father in heaven who loves us intimately, and cares deeply for us. He loves to bless us and give us good things. He also created us with free will, the ability to make independent choices and decisions. Sometimes we get it wrong. We take the wrong path or ask for the wrong things. Sometimes difficult things happen to us, or we have to experience going without the things that we think will make us content.

There are times when I have cried loudly, thrashed about a bit, railed at God. Usually, it is when I just don’t understand. Like my grandson, my understanding is limited. I struggle to see why I must endure unpleasant things. Why suffering must come to me or those I love. I know God knows why, that He sees the bigger picture, that His ways are higher than mine. And I have had to learn to trust Him, even when there are no answers.

Tantrums only hurt me

I have just navigated a season of loss with God. It has been tough, and healing is still in progress. During this time, I haven’t screamed and cried much at God, even when it really hurt. Through previous life experience I have learnt that reacting that way doesn’t actually do me any good. Just as my grandson’s tantrums only really hurt him. I am the one who suffers more if I don’t deal well with disappointment. If I do have a moment of anger or frustration, I know that God will be patient with me. He looks on in love and waits for me to work it out. If I sit in the negativity, I sacrifice the peace He is offering me. My self-pity steals my joy and can lead to hopelessness and despair.

Trusting God to know what is best

Our loving Father in heaven knows that we can’t always have all that we want. He knows that we are going to have to endure hard things, have our independence curtailed. He knows and He cares. I love my grandson, and I want him to give him everything that he asks for. I also know that it wouldn’t be healthy for him if I did. Isn’t it good that we can trust a perfect Father to know what is for our best and what is not?

After the storm has passed there is a quiet resolution. A cuddle and a few soft words and everything is settled. Our boy knows that us loving him doesn’t mean that we will always give in to him. He remembers all the love (and the things) that we have lavished him with already. He loves us and still wants to be with us.

I don’t want to be independent

I would love life to always be pain-free. Just this week we have had some more sad news. Grief has resurfaced, and the questions threaten. I have decided not to scream and rant at God, I need His peace too much. I need His loving presence close by to help me, and those I love, navigate this storm. I need to hear His soft words of comfort. He knows that I don’t like it, that I wish it could have been different. But I don’t want to be independent at the moment. I want to be fully dependent on Him, and that means using my independence, my free-will to choose to trust Him with it all.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Psalm 62:8

Joy Margetts is a published author and blogger. Her books are works of Christian Historical fiction. Set in medieval Wales against the backdrop of Cistercian abbey life, they tell stories of faith, hope and God’s redemptive power.

She has also written two non-fiction devotionals. More information on Joy, and her books can be found here

Blog Tour, Book Review, Books, Christian publishing, Jesus, Kingdom books, The Word of God

BOOK REVIEW: Finding Jesus in the Wilderness, by Rachel Yarworth

January 27, 2025January 24, 2025 joymargetts

It is my absolute privilege to be able to kick off the Blog Tour for this incredible book!

Finding Jesus in the Wilderness: 40 reflections for dry and difficult times

Author: Rachel Yarworth ISBN: 978-1739257743 RRP £10.99

Image of the front cover of Finding Jesus in the wilderness

THE BLURB

Wilderness seasons come to us all: those spiritually dry and difficult times when God feels far away and the temptation to quit is everywhere. But it’s not all bad. There are treasures hidden among the difficulties that God has brought you here to find.
This book offers companionship to those who find themselves in a wilderness season – a hand to hold and a voice to encourage you to keep going. There is hope here after all. Also suitable as a Lenten devotional, where reading a reflection every day will help you to identify with Jesus’ own journey through the wilderness.

MY REVIEW

One of the really thrilling things about being in a community with like-minded Christian writers is that you get to be involved with seeing some incredible books be produced and released into the world. I was so privileged to be able to read an early version of this book when it was still in manuscript form, and it blew me away. I was so excited by it, that I wanted to endorse it, which I did, and recommend it to everyone and anyone.

Have you ever been in a spiritual wilderness season? Perhaps you are in one now? Have you ever wondered why you are there? Or where God is in all of it? Or if you will ever come out the other side?

I think most of us can associate with those thoughts and questions. Loss, long term illness, broken relationships; there are a myriad reasons why we can find ourselves struggling to connect with God. Seasons where we feel lonely, misunderstood, weary and dry.

Written from the Wilderness

This special book was written from the wilderness place; Rachel knows all about it. This isn’t an ‘I got through the other side and now I can see everything clearly’ book, it is real and raw about how it feels to be in that season. Yet it also brims over with hope.

Every chapter is full of truth and treasure, based soundly on the written word of God, and also incorporating some personal Holy Spirit inspired words of encouragement. Written as a 40- day devotional, each day tackles a different aspect of the wilderness experience. Rachel has chosen to alternate these so that alongside every perceived difficulty there is a chapter of hope. So although the wilderness might be a place of desperation, loneliness and fear, is can also be a place of romance, connection and preparation.

Get yourself a copy!

I love this book! Can you tell? It is perfect for Lent, but equally as good at any other time. I am currently reading through it a second time and it is helping me immensely. God is speaking deep words of encouragement to my soul as I face my own challenging season.

I cannot recommend Finding Jesus in the Wilderness highly enough. Go get yourself a copy – buy two and give one away! I truly believe this is going to be a life-changing book for many.

Finding Jesus in the Wilderness is available direct from Rachel at www.rachelyarworthwriter.uk, through Amazon in paperback and eBook form, and wherever good Christian books are sold.

If you want to go even deeper with this book, Rachel has also produced a helpful companion Prayer Journal, also available via her website.

Image of front cover of Finding Jesus in the Wilderness Prayer Journal.

‘The Pilgrim‘, her second full length novel, was published by Instant Apostle on 22 July 2022, and her third novel, ‘The Bride‘, published on 20th October 2023. Her first non-fiction book, an Advent Devotional, ‘Christ Illuminated‘ was published in September 2023.

‘The Stranger‘, her fourth full length novel was published 22 November 2024 by Broad Place Publishing.

More information on Joy, and her books can be found here

christian fiction, Christian Writer, Devotional thought, Kingdom books, Lessons from life, The Word of God

‘ER AR OO?’

November 28, 2024November 24, 2024 joymargetts

A couple of weeks ago we had the joy of going away for a few days with the children and grandchildren. All weekend the son-on-law was quipping about things he was doing, or we were discussing, ending up in my blog. He was right, but this one isn’t about him. I’m not sure if he will be pleased or disappointed about that! His time will come. My family are a source of endless inspiration for my blog it seems.

Photo of a small boy and small girl sitting on the fender of an old railway engine

No Escape

Being with two small people 24 hours a day is great fun but also exhausting. It was tiring enough when we were fit young parents. Now that we are not so fit and not so young, it is doubly exhausting. And there is no escape. We had forgotten that. No room is off limits to inquisitive toddlers – not our bedroom at 7 am in the morning, or the bathroom it seems.

‘Er ar oo?’

‘Nana, ‘er ar oo?’ the little one called from behind the locked bathroom door. ‘I’m here!’ I replied, hastening to finish what I had gone in there to do. There was a pause of quite a few seconds, in which I though she had given up and gone away. In fact she had gone for reinforcements – her brother – and then there was a crash of toy diggers against the door, and the repeated refrain, a little louder this time. ‘Nana, ‘er ar oo?’ .

‘I’m here’, I said, also a little louder, and resigned myself to the fact that I had been discovered in my temporary hiding place. I paused before opening the door – it was necessary, to save everyone embarrassment – and in the moments it took for me to make myself relatively decent, the voice came once more, and even more insistently. ‘NANA, ‘ER AR OO?’

Just behind the door

I love my grandchildren with a fierce intensity. I love that they want to be with me, and that a closed door is no barrier when they decide to find me. We will remember that sweet little question for a long time. It made my heart swell to hear it. I wondered afterwards if she asked the question repeatedly because she couldn’t hear my reply through the locked door. Or was she just making sure that she had my attention – making sure I knew she was there and looking for me? Wanting me to come out and love on her … and play toys.

Where are You God?’

I wonder if there are times when you go to our Heavenly Father, and call out to Him. Repeatedly perhaps. Have you ever felt that there is a locked shut door between you and Him? Or perhaps you have been listening out for His answer and not hearing it? I have experienced that. When life gets tough sometimes we become more aware of God’s presence and peace. But sometimes in those difficult times, it actually feels like He has hidden Himself away. We knock and knock, but He doesn’t seem to be listening.

I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

The Stranger

My latest book, The Stranger, was inspired by a time in my life where I felt I had lost contact with the God who had always been there for me. I couldn’t feel His presence, I couldn’t hear His voice. There seemed to be a barrier between us, and it was awful. Despair came calling and the temptation to abandon all that I have ever believed in was very real. Where are You, God? I called. Why aren’t you stopping this pain? Why have you left me here in this pit? Do You even care?

Just behind the door

I wrote The Stranger because I want to spread hope. The central character, Silas, goes on the same journey as I did all those years ago. God might have seemed silent and distant at the time, but I think now that He was answering my cries and I just couldn’t hear Him. Or wouldn’t hear Him. There was a huge solid wall between us. One that I had built. A seemingly closed door made up of accusation, fear, doubt, disappointment, anger and grief. When I stopped banging and yelling. When I repented for the case I had built against Him, then gently the door began to open. I began to hear Him again. First through the words of loving friends, then through the truth of His Word, and finally in the depths of my being – that still small voice that I long remembered and held dear.

I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matt 28:20

He had never abandoned me. He was just the other side of the door calling out, ‘I’m here, beloved, I’m here’.

If you would like to read Silas’ story in The Stranger, you can now buy a copy where all good books are sold, in the UK and the US. Or via my website at www.joymargetts.com.

‘The Stranger‘, her fourth full length novel was published 22 November 2024 by Broad Place Publishing.

More information on Joy, and her books can be found here

Bible, Christian blog, Christian faith, Christian Writer, christmas, Devotional thought, Jesus, Lessons from life

JOY AND PAIN

November 7, 2024November 6, 2024 joymargetts

At the beginning of last month we had a fabulous family day out. So full of joy! We took the children and the grandchildren and visited a stunning country estate, with lush green lawns, hidden gardens, views of mountains and water, and a house full of fascinating history. The sun shone, the ice-creams were delicious, and we all enjoyed it very much. The day after I struggled to move from my bed.

That is the nature of the chronic condition I live with. I can do some of the things that I want to do, I can push myself to live a ‘normal’ life, I can spend a whole day out with my family and walk far more than I usually do. But there is always payback. This time around the payback lasted for some days, and it was painful – both physically and emotionally.

Photo of a family with three adults and two small children walking down a gravel path between grass and trees

That’s life

I took my frustrations out on God, as I always do. He is big enough to take it! And as always He spoke comfort and wisdom to my soul. He reminded me that life is actually about joy and pain. The two co-exist in tension, and will do until we all enter that place where pain will be no more and our joy inexpressible. Would I have chosen not to go out for that family day if I had known what the after effects would be? No! I would not have missed it for the world. We celebrated one another and created some really special memories that day. The pain was worth it.

Was the pain worth it?

We are fast approaching Christmas (sorry to mention it!). We will be remembering the story of a frightened young girl enduring unimaginable emotional and physical pain as she carried and gave birth to the Son of God. I wonder if Mary thought all the pain worth it? The shunning by her neighbours, the distrust from her betrothed, the looks and snide comments, the exhausting journey to a distant town, the filthy damp stable where she had to give birth. I think she did think it was worth it. For the joy of being chosen to bear the Messiah, the joy of holding her Saviour in her arms, the joy of understanding that this was all so much greater than her momentary suffering.

Jesus

And then of cause there is Jesus,

‘who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,’ Hebrews 12:2 NKJV

None of us can ever fully understand the pain that Jesus endured. Horrendous physical pain of course, but then there was the heart pain of separation, the weight of sin and all it’s consequences, the betrayal, the mocking. But this verse tells us that it was for the joy to come that He endured it all. The joy of knowing me, and you, and millions of others who would find their life in Him. We were the joy He looked forward to as He submitted himself to the cross.

Photo of a stately home with grass and trees in front of it, water and mountains behind and a blue sky above.

There is always joy

Not all pain has a reason that we can see. God knows and He sees the bigger picture. Perhaps our pain will produce something fruitful and eternal? And we have this hope – there might be pain, but there is always joy. Jesus came to turn it all around.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
…. to comfort all who mourn,
To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV

‘The Stranger‘, her fourth full length novel is coming soon! Due for publication November 2024

More information on Joy, and her books can be found here

Christian faith, Christian Writer, Devotional thought, The Word of God

CRAWLING UNDER HIS WING TO REST (PSALM 63)

June 28, 2024June 28, 2024 joymargetts

I have had the absolute privilege and honour to help organise and lead a Retreat for Christian writers this month . Under the umbrella of Kingdom Story Writers, we ran an event for those who believe that they have been called to write by God and for His kingdom. Some were published already, many were just responding to the call on their lives to write. All came with the desire to be informed and encouraged and inspired. I think they left satisfied! From the early feedback the Retreat was all that we had hoped and prayed it would be – and more than we could have imagined.

No choice but to rest

The delegates left more that satisfied, and deeply blessed by God. I left blessed and encouraged but also exhausted. I had fought off a nasty virus the week before the Retreat, and I have Chronic Fatigue, so tiredness is a blight of my life anyway. The resulting exhaustion this week has been so overwhelming that I have been forced to rest. No choice.

But the weariness and weakness is good. I have to keep telling myself! Because that is when you realise your utter dependency on God, and understand just how much you need Him. Just to get through each day!

Psalm 63

I was meditating on Psalm 63 today, and these words just came. I hope they bless you!

You are my God! I come to you, first, today. Longing for what you can give me, to feed me and satisfy my thirst. To strengthen and empower me.

I come into Your presence, stepping into Your sanctuary, boldly approaching. Stunned by your glory and power, and yet knowing that you embrace me as Your beloved.

You love me so much! And that love is more precious to me than life, more precious than anything that I can do or achieve, even today.

How can I tell You? Show You? I lift up my weary arms. And I offer my humble, little praise. Declaring the wonder of Your Name. And sitting satisfied in the knowledge of all You have done for me. Knowing that every time You come to me, I am fed to fullness.

All today You will be with me. Your power, Your glory, Your lovingkindness sustaining me. I will go to bed tonight knowing that You have helped me, in ways both seen and unseen.

And as I tuck down, I will curl into that place of rest, beneath the umbrella shadow of Your wing. My heart full of joy because I am Yours. My soul will not let go of You. I follow close, clinging on to You.

And You hold my hand and keep me walking, keep me strong. Protecting me always, from those who would pull me down. And from myself and my own self-sufficiency.

Image of a bible opened to the book of Psalms, with the text of Psalm 63:8 from The Passion Translation.

More information on Joy, and her books can be found here

Bible, Christian faith, Christian Writer, Faith, The Word of God

A PARENT’S FAITH

April 11, 2024April 10, 2024 joymargetts

If you follow and read my blog you will know that I often hear God speak through my interactions with my grandchildren. I love being a grandparent, it is a joy and a privilege. But before I was a grandparent, I was a parent. And I still am! My children might be grown now, but they are still my children. I love them dearly and continue to want the best for them.

THE CHALLENGES

Being a parent is a wonderful God gift. But it isn’t always easy. You do your best to care for your children, and to teach them the best way to live. As a Christian parent you try to show them a real living faith, and point them towards Jesus. At each stage, from baby, through to toddler, schoolchild, teenager, and young adult, there are challenges! Even when they are grown and left home, even when they have children of their own, still the challenges of parenting don’t end. I am blessed to still be needed by my children, to still have involvement in their lives. But when I see them struggling, when I watch them make life decisions that aren’t the wisest, when I don’t see all my prayers for them answered, being a parent is hard.

Image of a photo of an adult with their arms around a child in a hug. — Image courtesy of Canva

God spoke to me in a really special way about that this week.

A PARENT’S FAITH

There are two stories close to each other in Matthew’s gospel featuring parents. In chapter 15 a Gentile woman, a mother, humbles herself before Jesus, pleading for healing for her daughter. She has to persist, but Jesus acknowledges her and honours her faith, and her daughter is healed instantly.

In chapter 17 a father has brought his son to Jesus’ disciples to be healed, and they have failed to do so. Jesus steps in, and heals him, with an ensuing discussion about faith. In Mark’s version of the story we have the phrase from that desperate father’s mouth that resonates with us all, ‘Lord I believe; help my unbelief!’. But it was the father’s simple words in Matt 17:15 that jumped off the page for me as I read it this week, ‘Lord, have mercy on my Son!’. I know the heart behind those words. The desperation, the longing, the hope.

Image of a painting of a woman on her knees, with her hands clasped pleading before a figure representing Jesus. — Image Courtesy of Eastgate

GOD HONOURS PARENTS

In both of those Gospel stories Jesus responded to the faith of parents, on behalf of their children. This is such a beautiful truth. God honours parents. We know this, He wrote it into the Ten Commandments! I believe He has a special place in His heart for parents who pray in faith for their children.

I asked God about this and I heard His whisper in response,

‘I love to hear the prayers of parents. I know the pain of loving a child, and seeing that child suffer. Yes, I do have a heart for parents; I have a special place for their tears.

The faith of parents in a powerful commodity in my Kingdom. Don’t ever give up believing for your children, even when they appear faithless. I hear your prayers as you bring them close to me. I call forth your faith and I will respond to it. Don’t give up! Don’t think I haven’t heard. I will answer. I love your children, even more than you do.’

If you are a praying parent, take these words for yourself, and be encouraged! If you are not a parent, but pray for children in your life and family, He hears those prayers too, and sees your faith. Thank you, Father!

More information on Joy, and her books can be found here