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Light in the Valley of the Shadow of Death: Stories of Ukrainian Christians During the War
Despite persistent stereotypes describing Ukrainian Protestants as distancing from society, believers from evangelical Protestant churches have been fighting to save Ukraine’s statehood and help its suffering society since the first days of the Russian war against Ukraine.
In this timely and honest work, twelve Ukrainian Christians from different spheres of life tell their stories of living and serving during this devastating time. They provide insight into how Ukrainian Christians are responding to the challenges of war and delve into what it means to be a Christian in unprecedented situations. This book tackles the struggles that the Christian faith faces during times of war and how war shapes a new spiritual experience of prayer, Bible reading, and ministry. While these stories reveal the horrors and darkness of war, they are also a testament to the light and healing that they have encountered, revealing how faith is intertwined with doubt, fear with courage, and loneliness with belonging.
In this timely and honest work, twelve Ukrainian Christians from different spheres of life tell their stories of living and serving during this devastating time. They provide insight into how Ukrainian Christians are responding to the challenges of war and delve into what it means to be a Christian in unprecedented situations. This book tackles the struggles that the Christian faith faces during times of war and how war shapes a new spiritual experience of prayer, Bible reading, and ministry. While these stories reveal the horrors and darkness of war, they are also a testament to the light and healing that they have encountered, revealing how faith is intertwined with doubt, fear with courage, and loneliness with belonging.
287 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 30, 2025
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January 2, 2026
Light in the Valley of the Shadow of Death is a snapshot of the experience of 12 people living in the context of war. The forward describes the book this way, “This book brings together twelve authors to tell their stories. Each one of them has joined in the fight against evil, the fight to preserve dignity, and freedom. They made their choice back then and reaffirm it daily as they pass through this collective Gethsemane filled with fear, loss, and despair. Yet they have faith that after Calvary comes Resurrection. That’s what they share with readers – their personal and profound experience of the last few years, an experience where faith is inextricably intertwined with doubts, fear is bound up with courage, and loneliness goes hand in hand with connection.” (vii).
The background of the 12 contributors is varied. They are educators, theologians, pastors, journalists, chaplains, soldiers, a war widow, and others. Their writing styles, focus, and reactions are also varied. What they do have in common is a shared ethnic heritage – they are Ukrainian, living in a war context, and following Jesus. These commonalities bring unity to the book. I also love that each chapter ends with a quote from the next chapter. To me this shows tremendous unity and respect for colleagues. As I read, I was moved, annoyed, angered, saddened, and even occasionally amused. The insights and reflections are real, insightful, and thought provoking. I could definitely see where, “…faith is inextricably intertwined with doubts, fear is bound up with courage, and loneliness…” These are some of the thoughts that stood out to me:
“The war didn’t teach me anything I didn’t know before, but I was experiencing it all now. As a result, I was changing, and so was my outlook on life. I began to value family, freedom, and the bare necessities of life above all else. Previously, all of this had been overshadowed by hollow imaginings of happiness, such as owning things or being popular. The war quickly and ruthlessly dealt with these illusions. (99).
I also know that evil must be opposed simply because it is the right thing to do. There is no other way. Evil exists, and it is objectively real. It may not always manifest as something purely evil, so it is not always easy to recognize. But when an armed person comes to kill simply because he desires more power, there is no need to attend lectures on philosophy and psychoanalysis to properly judge his actions: this is evil, and it must be stopped. (109)
The pain of loss will not fade overnight. The challenge of forgiving the enemy also looms somewhere on the horizon. It’s too early to talk or even think about forgiveness, but as I look towards the future, I am horrified to realize that we, as Christians, cannot avoid this topic. (114).
Too often, testimonies are about triumphs, victories, fulfilled hopes, and answered prayers. Rarely are they about painful loss and continued faith despite the pain. (272).
The strength of this book is not in the theology of war, evil, and suffering. While some of the insights are deeply moving and profound, I also found some quit shallow or simplistic. Hearing the process of applying theology is a great value. But an even greater value is that this book is like the data of a qualitative study of the experience of war from the point of view of faith. It is a snapshot of the experience of 12 varied individuals, as they navigate life through a terrible evil. They wrestle with all the questions – Why? How long? Where are you?! What next? They react with passion and authentic. I am sure I didn’t feel their intensity of emotion, but I felt with them. I journeyed with them. My view of God, evil, justice, prayer, were all impacted. This is another multi-reader.
The background of the 12 contributors is varied. They are educators, theologians, pastors, journalists, chaplains, soldiers, a war widow, and others. Their writing styles, focus, and reactions are also varied. What they do have in common is a shared ethnic heritage – they are Ukrainian, living in a war context, and following Jesus. These commonalities bring unity to the book. I also love that each chapter ends with a quote from the next chapter. To me this shows tremendous unity and respect for colleagues. As I read, I was moved, annoyed, angered, saddened, and even occasionally amused. The insights and reflections are real, insightful, and thought provoking. I could definitely see where, “…faith is inextricably intertwined with doubts, fear is bound up with courage, and loneliness…” These are some of the thoughts that stood out to me:
“The war didn’t teach me anything I didn’t know before, but I was experiencing it all now. As a result, I was changing, and so was my outlook on life. I began to value family, freedom, and the bare necessities of life above all else. Previously, all of this had been overshadowed by hollow imaginings of happiness, such as owning things or being popular. The war quickly and ruthlessly dealt with these illusions. (99).
I also know that evil must be opposed simply because it is the right thing to do. There is no other way. Evil exists, and it is objectively real. It may not always manifest as something purely evil, so it is not always easy to recognize. But when an armed person comes to kill simply because he desires more power, there is no need to attend lectures on philosophy and psychoanalysis to properly judge his actions: this is evil, and it must be stopped. (109)
The pain of loss will not fade overnight. The challenge of forgiving the enemy also looms somewhere on the horizon. It’s too early to talk or even think about forgiveness, but as I look towards the future, I am horrified to realize that we, as Christians, cannot avoid this topic. (114).
Too often, testimonies are about triumphs, victories, fulfilled hopes, and answered prayers. Rarely are they about painful loss and continued faith despite the pain. (272).
The strength of this book is not in the theology of war, evil, and suffering. While some of the insights are deeply moving and profound, I also found some quit shallow or simplistic. Hearing the process of applying theology is a great value. But an even greater value is that this book is like the data of a qualitative study of the experience of war from the point of view of faith. It is a snapshot of the experience of 12 varied individuals, as they navigate life through a terrible evil. They wrestle with all the questions – Why? How long? Where are you?! What next? They react with passion and authentic. I am sure I didn’t feel their intensity of emotion, but I felt with them. I journeyed with them. My view of God, evil, justice, prayer, were all impacted. This is another multi-reader.
January 10, 2026
This book is full of raw pain and deep vulnerability as Ukrainian believers wrestle with their faith in an on-going context of war and uncertainty that I as an American have never experienced. These are NOT historical stories from some remote past. These are real people right now confronted with unthinkable injustice and terrifying danger. The bombing goes on. The separations continue. The fear never stops. The excuses and justifications for evil never cease to twist the gut with disappointment in those who claim the name of Christ but turn away from the suffering cries of their brothers and sisters in Christ.
Here we have the stories of theologians whose relationships have been fractured by battle lines, of homeless refugees, of those ministering spiritually to civilians who find themselves suddenly sent to the front lines (in school buses!), and those left at home waiting in uncertainty or grieving loss. Each one shares with tremendous vulnerability their journeys of spiritual struggle and growth that will give this book spiritual significance long after truce lines have been drawn and treaties signed.
“Salvation is not evacuation to heaven.” P. 177
“Faith is tears. Smiling is not a sign of faith…Faith perceives, accepts and plunges into the filth of a stinking, sinful reality.” P. 176
Here we have the stories of theologians whose relationships have been fractured by battle lines, of homeless refugees, of those ministering spiritually to civilians who find themselves suddenly sent to the front lines (in school buses!), and those left at home waiting in uncertainty or grieving loss. Each one shares with tremendous vulnerability their journeys of spiritual struggle and growth that will give this book spiritual significance long after truce lines have been drawn and treaties signed.
“Salvation is not evacuation to heaven.” P. 177
“Faith is tears. Smiling is not a sign of faith…Faith perceives, accepts and plunges into the filth of a stinking, sinful reality.” P. 176
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews