Evangelist and author Joyce Meyer revealed recently that she was raped more than 200 times by her father and shared how her journey toward forgiveness has enriched her faith.
During an interview last year, Meyer said, “My father did rape me, numerous times, at least 200 times. There was no place I ever felt safe growing up.”
“Literally, what he did was rape me, every week, at least once a week, until the time I was 18,” she explained. “My father, who I was supposed to be able to trust, who was supposed to keep me safe, raped me a minimum of 200 times.”
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The 75-year-old preacher told a crowd recently she “can’t explain” why God allowed her to endure such devastating sexual abuse.
“I know that God didn’t get me out of it, but he did give me the strength to go through it. God had a plan,” Meyer told the audience.
Meyer went on to say she used to readily admit she wishes she had never endured such repeated assault, but then God changed her thinking. Through tears, the well-known evangelist said she now looks back on her childhood and is “glad it happened.”
“Because I’m a better person now than I ever would have been,” Meyer said. “I don’t know how to make any sense out of that, but I know that I know that I know that God has redeemed me and he has taken what Satan meant for harm and worked it out for good.”
“I’m stronger,” she added. “I know God better. I understand people’s pain. And I believe it’s made me able to reach out to you in your pain and your need and to tell you, with all passion, God is alive.”
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To those who have endured similar sexual assault and abuse, Meyer encouraged them, revealing she is “evidence that you can recover.”
“There’s no pit so deep that He can’t reach down and lift you out of. He will set your feet on a rock. He will give you a wonderful life,” she declared. “He will give you beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. He will make you a tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
So far, the video of Meyer’s powerful testimony has been watched more than 300,000 times and shared by more than 8,000 people.
(H/T: CBN News)