Mary DeMuth is one of my mentors, even if she doesn't know
it. After reading her honest and raw memoir, Thin
Places (which I highly recommend), I was shocked at how closely my
early life experiences so closely resembled those she journeys through in her
memoir. Mary's writing ministry is powerful and I pray that God will allow
me to encourage and inspire others through authentic writing the way Mary does.
When I dug into the pages of Beautiful
Battle: A Woman's Guide to Spiritual Warfare, this same phenomenon
gripped me to the book's pages. How did she get inside my head and tell a
story about exactly what I went through? In the book, Mary uses the lessons
learned in her dark and painful time of service in ministry in France
As I read about these experiences, my still-raw heart flooded
with memories of my time in ministry in Texas France
I have to admit that spiritual warfare is not a topic I
enjoy reading about. Like many Christians, I tend to avoid the topic of the
Enemy altogether, dismissing evil as mysterious and scary and a terrible thing
to waste my time pondering. Still, at some point in every Christian's life, we
find ourselves neck deep in warfare, and from experience, I can tell you… Being
ill-equipped to handle battle is not the best way to trudge through it.
What I enjoyed most about Beautiful
Battle was that Mary did not simplify the intricacies of faith or
warfare, nor does she make excuses for why God allows such suffering. She does
not present a wham-bam formula or an oversimplified, one-size-fits-all version
of how to emerge victorious. She does not focus on the Enemy but rather on the
Lord, inspiring us in our darkest hours not to consume ourselves with the how
of spiritual warfare, but instead on the who – the One who holds the
power over defeat, and what it looks like to protect ourselves with His armor.
Something I appreciate about Mary's writing is that in all her
books I've read, she isn't afraid to tell the truth. Mary doesn't sugar-coat
things or put on a Holy Holly Christian face that I find hard to relate to, the
way many Christian authors tend to do when writing from an authoritative perspective
on a spiritual matter. Mary is quick to share her real struggles, bare the
rawness of her heart and experiences, admit her failures, and expose her own
brokenness that we might see ourselves in her (I know I do) and connect with
what she has learned to help us take another step in growth.
Authenticity is what I admire most in a writer, and Mary's
got it. As she says on page 86 of Beautiful
Battle, "Authenticity is our declaration that we will live in the
light." Amen, sister! Another of my favorite quotes in the book appears on
page 135, "If I keep my heart in fear's forest, I'll never fly."
Mary urges us to not just read the Word of God, but to claim
it in its full power. "What would life look like if you truly believed the
words of Romans?" she writes. "To live as if nothing fazed you in
light of Christ's amazing love? Not even the demonic can separate you from
God's love. Rest in that. Believe that. Live that." (Page 140, Beautiful
Battle).
Whether you're currently experiencing the terrorizing emptiness
of spiritual warfare, you have in the past, or you're headed there in the
future, I highly recommend keeping a copy of this book tucked under your armor.
Mary only points to the truth of Scripture as weaponry against evil, but she is
a wise friend to keep beside us in battle. You can purchase Beautiful
Battle, Thin
Places, or Mary's
other books through the links on this page.
