Lisa Bevere
10 min read ⭑
“When men feel unnecessary, they falter, and women become the last line of defense for the children. As a mother and grandmother, I intend to use my voice and time to expose these lies and mark a path forward. I want to empower women of all ages to remember they are daughters of the Most High.”
Lisa Bevere has spent decades listening to God’s voice and communicating his heart to millions of women across the globe. She and her husband, John, founded Messenger International to transform lives and set hearts free with biblical truth. Lisa is also the bestselling author of books like “Strong,” “Out of Control and Loving It,” “Without Rival,” “The Fight for Female” and many more. Through her books and speaking engagements, Lisa helps women navigate marriage, work, raising godly children and discovering their voice and calling with God’s wisdom and the Holy Spirit’s power.
In today’s interview, she’s opening up about the struggles of running a traveling ministry, the joy she experiences around the table with her family and the fight Satan is waging against God’s daughters. You’ll also read how journaling has helped her connect with Jesus and the specific books, movies, people and tech that encourage her in her walk with God.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
The meals we enjoy are about so much more than the food we eat. So how does a “go-to” meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
We travel so much that eating at home is a special treat. My favorite meal is at our table surrounded by family.
But eating at home was not my answer growing up.
My mother was an excellent cook, but as far back as I can remember, dinners were tense. My younger brother and I sat quietly between our parents. My Sicilian father and Anglo mother hailed from different but equally broken worlds.
“Slow down! I won’t take your food away.” My mother would chide.
I wasn’t worried about losing my food. I was concerned someone was about to lose their temper. I ate fast to escape the table before things turned volatile. In my teens, I developed an eating disorder that was compounded by lactose intolerance.
I was completely healed of both shortly after I followed Christ. Food was no longer an idol or a source of pain. My mind would drift to different ways to prepare pasta during church services. Suddenly, Italian was all I wanted to make. It was as if my father’s heritage called to me in variations of pesto pasta. Dinner became our family’s favorite time of connection. No one leaves the table early — we linger. My sons still clean the kitchen, and then we play games. And my pesto pasta is requested by the grands for their birthday dinners. Redemption at its funniest.
Annie Spratt; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activity do you love engaging in that also helps you find essential spiritual renewal?
I love to ride my bicycle.
It was a Mother’s Day gift from my husband years ago. It had been years, possibly decades, since I’d ridden a bike. He surprised me with a mint green bike with a wicker basket. At first, I thought the gift was exorbitant, but it quickly became a treasure with the power to turn back time and blow away my cares. There is nothing quite like it. On a bicycle, I am a 10-year-old girl again. As I pass under the archways of trees and traverse winding country roads, I remember the joy of simpler times.
That said, bike riding has come with a cost. I have been in a few serious accidents. One, when I was 14, saw me ambulance bound and hospitalized for several days. More recently, another crash resulted in widespread abrasions, broken ribs and toes and a debilitating concussion. But immediately after the fall, I remounted my bike (that escaped unscathed) and rode it home. I felt every bump in my ribs, but there was no way I was going to allow the accident to rob me of the joy of riding my bike.
One of our favorite traditions is an evening ride to say goodnight to the six grandchildren who live down the street from us. We collect hugs and read stories before returning home when night has fallen.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness; every human too. We’re just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re all broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you confront its power head-on?
My biggest life challenge is my female relationships, which is funny because all that I do, write and podcast about involves women.
And yet I wrestle with the sense that I am always on the outside looking in. As someone who travels extensively, I have more contact with strangers than with local friends. Travel means that when I am home, I invest my time in my family and team. This can feel like I am a stranger in my hometown. I am rarely invited to birthday parties or baby showers. People forget who they do not see.
Even on the road, it’s not unusual for them to announce the speaker lined up for the following year before I’ve been introduced. I understand why they do this, and I don’t feel dishonored. But it can feel as though you’re invited but never included. You plant seeds you rarely get to see grow. If I am asked out to coffee or a meal, it is rarely because someone wants to know me. They want to “pick my brain” or for me to “mentor them” or some form of a “how-to.” It can feel very transactional. I am rarely offered the gift of friendship. In all honesty, this has been the hardest part of what I do.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
My most recent book, “The Fight for Female,” is a battle plan to rescue our children and recover our divine birthright. We are fighting a battle of identity within ourselves that culture tries to fix from the outside. I exposed the fact that there is something about women and in this generation that the enemy wants twisted and aborted. The dragon has plagued us with the untrue and the unholy. He wants each of us to question the wonder of our formation, hoping we will doubt God’s power of transformation. He has tried to silence our voices and lull us into a stupor. He doesn’t want us to wake up and realize we are in the throes of a very real spiritual battle. We have forgotten that we are threats to his plans and accepted the title of victim.
When men feel unnecessary, they falter, and women become the last line of defense for the children. As a mother and grandmother, I intend to use my voice and time to expose these lies and mark a path forward. I want to empower women of all ages to remember they are daughters of the Most High. To that end, I pray, travel to minister, podcast and write.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
Journaling is a source of inspiration. Sometimes what I journal is deeply personal. After a very difficult labor and recovery with my first son, I felt like a failure. I woke up one night sensing an invitation to journal. God addressed my fear. He told me my next birth would be quick and joyous. I didn’t believe him. He said he would carry me. I told him I felt dropped in my last labor. I didn’t trust him. I shut the journal and lost track of it in a move. When I went into labor with my second son, I had him 20 minutes after I got to the hospital. I felt empowered rather than crippled. Later, when I found my journal entry, I wept because I knew that I knew his voice.
God speaks profoundly to me in dreams. When a dream lingers, I write it down. It is not every night, but I do pause between waking and rising to sense the sacred. l often hear a Scripture, a song or a fragment of a conversation that needs resolution.
In the past, I dreamed of a lioness, a sword, women and dragons. These dreams are bigger and are meant to be shared. Books were born from the seeds of these dreams: “Lioness Arising,” “Girls with Swords” and “The Fight for Female.” When I honor what I’ve heard, thought or seen by simply writing it down, I usually hear what’s next.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?
Actively listening to worship music is my go-to.
Active could mean simply walking outside with headphones and drinking in creation.
Active could mean dancing as I feel actually moved by the music.
Movement activates and engages me. I can listen to music while I am getting ready or preparing a meal, but this is not what I am describing. That is when my mind hears, but there are holy moments when I am more fully engaged. That is when I sense his love and nearness. That is when I hear who I am to him.
In a moment of great pain, active means a posture of stillness when I want to yell or lash out at someone. But my soul is quieted when I listen for his voice while the music washes over me.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed reality and your heart?
Anything written by C.S. Lewis has had a profound effect on my life. This imprint first began in my childhood with “The Chronicles of Narnia.” These childhood favorites are the books that I tend to read whenever I am writing to keep my heart pure. But at some point, I collected all his writings, from “Mere Christianity” to “The Screwtape Letters.” And they all have inspired me.
Two movies that are little known but gutted me in the best of ways were: “I Am David” by Walden Media and the Italian film “Life Is Beautiful.” Both highlight the power of a selfless life. I remember weeping and wailing aloud on a flight while watching “I Am David.”
The last one I want to highlight is my husband. John has been my mentor from day one. He has always pulled out the best in me. I have lived each of his books with him. “The Bait of Satan” set us both free from the trap of offense and “The Awe of God” is a living testament to his daily pursuit.
We all have things we cling to to survive or even thrive in our fast-paced, techno-driven world. How have you been successful in harnessing technology to aid in your spiritual growth?
In 2020, I learned there is grave danger in allowing ourselves to be entangled by media — social or otherwise. I needed something outside my evangelical Christian bubble. I wanted to be challenged, so I enrolled in Peterson Academy. It is a higher educational collective of professors and thought leaders who honor Judeo-Christian ethics but dive deep into the ideologies of today. The conversations use a Socratic methodology to specifically address the cultural moment we find ourselves in.
Alas, social media is, for now, a somewhat necessary evil. I am sensitive. I have had to learn the difference between “guarding my heart” and “putting it in lockdown.” You guard what is precious (your heart) and lock up (or out) what is unsafe. Trolls are real, and they want to make you pay. Don’t let them do it. Don’t argue with them — it will cost you. When I have had a particularly rough day on social media, I turn off my phone and say goodnight to the pretend world. They are guests and strangers on your platform. If they behave badly, you can invite them to leave.
I learned this long ago: you let your critics refine you, not define you. If you can say or do something better, then do it. But no one but God gets to name you!
QUESTION #8: dream
God’s continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I have some “not yets.” I have learned to ponder and protect what is not yet fully formed in me. What I can share is this: it feels like I went to bed one night and I was 45 only to wake up and find myself on the threshold of my 65th birthday. Time is moving faster than ever, and I am living in tension of wanting to seize and freeze each moment. May we each redeem our days with sacred kindness and holy intent. I pray my words serve as a catalyst and testament to the truth that the “tides and time waits for no man.”
Earlier, Lisa Bevere stated that she wept when she read her prior journal entry — because she realized she truly did hear God’s voice. Do you have moments when you doubt whether you’ve heard God’s voice or not? If so, may Jesus’ words fill you with peace and security today:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand” (John 10:27-29, ESV).
Amen.
Lisa Bevere is a New York Times bestselling author, podcaster, minister, cancer survivor and cofounder of Messenger International. She’s been married to John for over 40 years, and together, they have four sons, have authored more than 40 books and have four lovely daughters-in-love and nine grands. Lisa has spent nearly four decades ministering globally to women. Messenger International has given away over 60 million books in 130+ languages. Lisa enjoys dual citizenship with Italy.
