Joyce Meyer - The Fall of Joyce Meyer, Literally - Part 1

Ginger Stache: Hey everybody, welcome to talk it out. We are back and we are thrilled to be here. This is where all of us girlfriends, we sit down, we talk about life and God's word and how it applies to everything that we're going through. We have our friends, Erin Cluley here with us, the one and only, Joyce Meyer.

Joyce Meyer: Yay!

Ginger Stache: I'm Ginger Stache and we're so glad to have you here with us. We've got some changes, obviously, with the podcast coming back after a very nice summer break.

Erin Cluley: Yeah.

Ginger Stache: I have to be careful when I say, "A summer break" to Joyce. I'm sorry.

Joyce Meyer: Don't use the word "Break" with me.

Erin Cluley: No, a summer hiatus.

Joyce Meyer: Yeah.

Ginger Stache: That's better. Today, you're gonna get the whole scoop from Joyce, herself. She's gonna fill you in on what her summer's been like and what's been going on. We're calling it "The fall of Joyce Meyer".

Joyce Meyer: No, thank you. But I did not fall into sin. That's not the kind of fall it was.

Ginger Stache: We are going to clarify very clearly, but if you're here, because you saw that title, welcome. We're glad you're here.

Joyce Meyer: Yeah.

Ginger Stache: But we're really gonna talk about a lot of things that you learned through an experience of having some downtime. Downtime's maybe not the right way to say it either.

Joyce Meyer: Yeah, let's...

Ginger Stache: Yeah, I just...

Erin Cluley: It's gettin' worse.

Ginger Stache: The words are not...

Joyce Meyer: Quiet time.

Ginger Stache: Quiet time. Quiet time, that's really good. But we also have, as we're beginning, talk it out again, we have some changes, some new things that are happening. We're gonna miss our friend Jai, but we have a lot of great guests who are gonna be here with us. Some new things that we're starting. We're going to start a reoccurring topic for quite a little while, talking аbout: what are you thinking? And just really focusing on the mind and how changing our thoughts, that battlefield in the mind that we all need to win. So, we also have a new thing that we're gonna do at the end of every talk it out, called, "Walk it out". And we're gonna help you dig in a little bit deeper and take what we've talked about and really apply it. Maybe think about it a little bit longer, meditate on God's word. So, I'm looking forward to all this.

Joyce Meyer: Well, good, good.

Erin Cluley: It's gonna good. It's gonna be fun too, to get to hear from some of our friends too. And just, I think over the years we've been doing talk it out, it's been fun to hear how people are saying, "Oh, I relate to that too. I have the same questions". So, getting to hear from our friends, who are listening, and hear what they're asking, how they relate, and hear what God's doing is gonna be really special.

Ginger Stache: Yeah, we're going to be having a lot of questions from you that are coming from comments and social media. So, that'll be really nice too.

Erin Cluley: I think so too. Can I share one now, as we're starting?

Ginger Stache: Of course.

Erin Cluley: Directed towards Joyce Meyer, herself, but it's not a question yet. We won't tell you that. It's more a statement of love for you. Actually, I have a few. I'll just pick one for now. Natalia says, "Sending hugs and love to you, Joyce. God is working behind the scene for your speedy, complete recovery. Many are praying for you, and we know that God listens and promises to answer when we pray. Watching your program every day from the woodlands, Texas, much love to you". And one more. Linda says, "Praying for you and your quick 100% healing in Jesus' name. May you be comforted with all of the comfort you have freely given all of us in all of these years, Joyce. We love you".

Joyce Meyer: I appreciate that.

Erin Cluley: Aren't those sweet?

Joyce Meyer: And all the prayers really meant a lot to me. That's really what keeps us going in difficult times.

Erin Cluley: Absolutely.

Ginger Stache: Yeah.

Joyce Meyer: I think, I wanna start what I wanna say today by just saying you never know what's gonna happen. And so, you don't wanna wait until you have a problem to get strong in God. You wanna stay strong. And I think that's very important for people to hear. Because a lot of times when things are good, we kinda get lazy about our routine with God. And then, all of a sudden, when you have a problem, you find time to pray, you find time to spend time with him, you know, you find time to listen to the word. So, in the days that we're living in, especially, the closer we get to the end, the more the devil's gonna attack. And we really need to make sure that we stay strong in the Lord all the time. Because I certainly wasn't expecting what I got, but I'm really glad that I already had a good, strong relationship with God that got me through it, in victory.

Ginger Stache: Tell everybody what happened.

Joyce Meyer: Well, I went in to have a minor back surgery, called a "Laminectomy" because I had some stenosis in my spine. Sometimes as you get older, your spine will start to close up in areas and if it's pressing on nerves, it can really cause a lot of pain. And I had one of those about 10 years ago, in just like, one spot. But I had three spots that were pressing on nerves. And so, it was supposed to be a two-week recovery. And it was the same...

Ginger Stache: Outpatient surgery.

Joyce Meyer: Outpatient surgery. And so, I waited a little while, and all of a sudden, I got in the worst pain I think that I've ever had in my life. It was worse than having a baby. My family said, I don't even remember this, that's how bad it was. My family said I was down on the floor, on my hands and knees, just yelling, "You gotta get me to the hospital". So, what had happened, which we didn't really know until the next morning, was I had developed a blood clot at the surgery site, and that blood clot, I guess, was keeping blood from getting to my right leg or something. And so, my back, and down my bottom, and all down my right leg was just so painful. The next morning, they did an MRI, I was in the hospital, they did an MRI and saw the blood clot, took me right into surgery, again. But now, whatever trauma it did to my right leg, I couldn't pick my leg up that far. I just had zero strength in that leg. So, I stayed in the hospital for about three days, and then they transferred me to a rehabilitation hospital where I stayed for 14 days, and I did three hours of physical therapy a day. One was occupational therapy to teach you how to, you know, which I told 'em I didn't need too much of that because I don't do too many dishes anyway because I don't cook. Occupational therapy like, teaches you, you know, how to take care of yourself if you're injured. And I said, "I got a husband. He'll..".

Erin Cluley: He can take care of that one.

Joyce Meyer: "He'll do the occupation". But then, I had two hours of physical exercise a day. And it was to get that leg working again. So, during those 14 days, one of my kids stayed with me all the time. They took shifts, four-hour shifts, and they stayed with me all the time. My family was just so good to me. They wanted to make sure that I wasn't there by myself and wanted or needed something and couldn't get it. So, it's great when you have kids that when the chips are down, you know that they're there for you. And they said, "We'll do this no matter how long it takes". And so, I was there 14 days, and then they were gonna send me home: and I actually fell probably four times while I was there, because my leg just didn't have any strength. And I was on a walker but if i, you know, like, they have to teach you how to go up steps and a couple of times I fell trying to do that. And then, the day I was goin' home I actually fell while they were wheeling me out. So, I obviously had a lot of work to do. So, when I got home, I was starting to get better. I was doing physical therapy at home, and I was starting to get better. But I was in my closet and Dave was with me and I was getting ready to change my clothes and I don't even know how I did it, but I fell, and I caught both of my feet under my body. When I fell, I was actually sitting on my... So, I broke my left ankle, my fibula bone. And so, now, I can't walk on either leg.

Ginger Stache: That was your good leg.

Joyce Meyer: Yeah, that was my good leg. And so, now, I have a good leg that became the bad leg and a bad leg that was already bad. So, back to the hospital we go. They x-ray it. "Yeah, it's broken". So, they put a soft cast on it for two weeks or something. And I went back to the physical therapy hospital for 10 more days so they could try to teach me how to get around. I was in a wheelchair, and then they'd take me down, and I would do physical therapy. And I stayed there 10 days, and then, they sent me home. And I went to the orthopedic doctor and they put me in the pretty, gray boot that comes up to your knee.

Erin Cluley: Whoo.

Joyce Meyer: They said, "We have three colors. We have gray, we have gray, and we have gray. What color would you like"?

Joyce Meyer: And I said, "Oh, I'll take the gray".

Ginger Stache: Good choice.

Erin Cluley: I like it.

Joyce Meyer: Anyway, this whole scenario took two and a half months, and by the time, I go to the doctor next Friday to get released. But one of the things that I found that was interesting that I think is the result of all the prayers is the physical therapist told me, she said, "The rate at which your body's healing, it's responding like a 50-year-old, not an 80-year-old".

Ginger Stache: Wow.

Joyce Meyer: And so, I really, as bad as it sounds, I mean, today I came in here walking on my own two feet, and this is the first day that I've done that, that I haven't, 'cause I went from a wheelchair to a walker, to a cane, which I don't like the cane at all. For some reason, the cane makes me feel older than the walker does. But I wrote a book during that whole time called...

Erin Cluley: I was wondering how many you wrote.

Ginger Stache: That is not surprising.

Joyce Meyer: Called, "Don't overthink it".

Erin Cluley: That's a good book.

Joyce Meyer: But you know, it was really important to me that I live out what I preach...

Ginger Stache: Yes.

Joyce Meyer: During that time. That was just foremost in my mind. It's like, "Okay, I preach this stuff all the time and tell people what to do when they have trouble". Well, you know, I didn't really know how things were gonna turn out. I mean, you know, the devil puts thoughts in your head, "Well, what if you never can walk right again? What if your leg doesn't heal? What if the nerves in your legs don't heal"? You know, "What if, what if, what if"? And so, the mind is a big part of overcoming any problem that you have. And so, for all the people listening today, your problem may not be a physical one, but whatever it is, if it's money, if it's marriage, if it's your kids, if it's, you know, we all get in situations where we're in the situation and we don't know for sure what's gonna happen down here. And you have to really be careful about the "What ifs" because they're all gonna be negative.

Ginger Stache: Yeah.

Joyce Meyer: And so, my thinking, I mean, I just, all the time thought things like, "This will end: it's not gonna last forever". And one of the things that I did in the very beginning, is I said "I have to take this one day at a time". Because at the beginning, three months sounds like a long time.

Erin Cluley: It does.

Joyce Meyer: And they pretty much told me that's how long it would take. Three. And they say that this can hurt on and off up to six months and swell up to six months. And so, and I noticed like yesterday I went out and did some things and my, you know, foot was hurtin' by the end of the day. And so, it's definitely slowed me down. It's taught me to be a little more careful, because I probably wouldn't have fallen in the closet if I would have been being a little more careful. I'm pretty aggressive and I know nobody knows that.

Erin Cluley: I am shocked by this new information.

Joyce Meyer: Aren't you surprised by that?

Erin Cluley: I am.

Joyce Meyer: So, I sometimes get a little bit ahead of myself and think I can do things that I can't do. But...

Erin Cluley: Like getting out of a moving car because you're almost home.

Joyce Meyer: Yeah, starting to open the car door before we're in the driveway. But my aggressive nature has served me well. All these years in ministry, I wouldn't be where I'm at if I didn't have that. So, a lot of times one of our greatest strengths also becomes our greatest weakness. So, what I have to do is discern the difference between when I really need to be aggressive and when I need to be more careful.

Ginger Stache: Yeah.

Joyce Meyer: And so, I think I've learned to be more careful, to use more wisdom. And I said, "I've been quiet for so long that I find now that I'm just quieter". And I've really enjoyed the quiet.

Ginger Stache: You had a lot of peaceful time.

Joyce Meyer: Yeah, a lot of peaceful time.

Ginger Stache: A lot of time on your own.

Joyce Meyer: A lot of peaceful time. And just, you know, time to think. But I didn't think about a lotta, you know, I just thought about a lot of the stuff that we've gotten to do in ministry and how I just wanna keep helping people. And, you know, when you're hurting or you're going through any kind of a situation, like, I was down in the exercise room, one day, at the rehab center, and I was trying to rehab both of my legs, but there was a girl in another table, over here, who had had both legs amputated.

Erin Cluley: Oh, wow.

Joyce Meyer: And so, there's always somebody that's got it a lot worse than you do.

Ginger Stache: Perspective means a lot.

Joyce Meyer: Perspective, and...

Ginger Stache: If we can do this real quick. You talked about making sure that you lived out your teaching. So, we wanna show a clip where you were talking, before all this happened about the importance of being prepared and how you can win a battle before it even begins.

Joyce Meyer: That's good.

Ginger Stache: And then, we'll come back and we'll talk a little bit more about how all of this works, some more the things that you've learned and what we can all glean from it.

Joyce Meyer: All right, Proverbs 18:14, great scripture. "The strong spirit of a man will sustain him in bodily pain and trouble, but a weak and a broken spirit who can raise it up or who can bear it"? If we stay strong spiritually then, really, no matter what come against us, we will make it through. That doesn't mean it's gonna be easy. That doesn't mean there's gonna be no pain involved. But truly, truly, we can do all things through Christ who is our strength. Yes, you can make it through whatever you're going through right now. And you know what? You can get so strong in spirit that you can be going through really, really difficult things and while you are, you're still reaching out and helping other people and they don't even know what you're going through. Did you hear me?

We don't have to be the kind of people that every time we have a problem, we fall apart. We can be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. But it's gonna take some maintenance, some regular doing of what we should be doing, not just waiting until all of sudden, we feel like we're falling apart and quick, quick, trying to get to where we need to be. Ephesians chapter 6 is a chapter in the Bible about how to defeat the devil. And we all love those kinds of messages. Everybody likes to think that they've got the power and they can defeat the enemy.

And in Ephesians 6:11-18 it teaches us about putting on the full armor of God and putting on peace and, you know, all the different facets of armor that we can put on which causes us to be victorious against the enemy. But verse 10 is one that we might not pay as much attention to as we should. And that precedes all the others and it simply says, "Be strong in the Lord. Be strong through your union, or your oneness, or your fellowship with him. Draw your strength from him [that strength which his boundless might provides]". So, the first thing to realize today before we go even further is whatever strength you hope to have in life, it's gotta be in God. He is our strength. He doesn't just give us strength, he is our strength.

And the minute that you have any sign of difficulty, even before you have difficulty, every day pray early, "God, give me the strength today to deal with whatever I need to deal with because I believe that I can do all things through Christ who is my strength". And I like what the Amplified Bible says about that scripture, it says, "I'm ready for anything. I'm equal to anything through him who infuses inner strength into me". Let's be the kind of people that are ready for anything. We don't even know what it is yet, but we're ready for whatever comes our way and we already know we're gonna have the victory before we ever have the problem. What does it mean to be more than a conqueror? I believe that's what it means, that you are so convinced in spirit of who you are in Christ that you already know you're gonna win the battle before the battle ever even comes your way.

Ginger Stache: So, Joyce, how did that knowledge of God's word and who he is, even through this trial, 'cause I know it had to be frustrating, it had to be disappointing at times. How did all of that come into play for you? How did you pull it together?

Joyce Meyer: Well, I can honestly say, and I don't mean it at all in any kind of a bragging or prideful way, I was really content the whole way through, the whole thing. I just...

Erin Cluley: You didn't ever have a moment where you said, "Oh, for real"?

Joyce Meyer: Well, I mean, I'm sure that I did, but they weren't big enough. I mean, I was so convinced that I would come out good on the end and that God would give me the strength to do what I needed to do each day. And, I mean, I could see God at work. He gave me a lot of favor. I had a lot of great nurses and, you know, great people helping, and the way my family responded, and just all of our partners praying for us and the love they were sending our way. And I really saw how all the time you put in with God really does, I don't know, payoff is a good word to use, but you see the results of it then when you have trouble. And that's really the way that Christians should be. The Bible never promises us no trouble. But what we should be able to do is when we have trouble, is we should be able to go through it pretty much as if we didn't have any.

Ginger Stache: Yeah.

Joyce Meyer: In other words, to be the same either way. Whether you're, I mean, Paul said, "I've learned how to be content, whether I'm abased or abounding". And I saw a definition the other day of "Joy," that it's "Contentment or a deep satisfaction". And so, the joy of the Lord is not, you know, just giggling and laughing and hilarity all the time. It's just having that contentment that you know whatever happens, that God's gonna take care of you.

Ginger Stache: And it doesn't mean, because when you say, "Whatever happens," it's not necessarily the things you wanted or would choose.

Joyce Meyer: No.

Ginger Stache: You had to cancel a conference. I mean, they're...

Joyce Meyer: Had to cancel more than one.

Ginger Stache: Yeah.

Joyce Meyer: And that's the first time, in 40 years of ministry, that I've had to do that.

Ginger Stache: Right.

Joyce Meyer: So, other than when COVID was...

Erin Cluley: Sure.

Ginger Stache: Yeah. So, those are things that, at first, you're maybe like, "God, this was for you".

Joyce Meyer: Yeah.

Erin Cluley: Yeah. How do you reconcile that? Because what you were supposed to be doing during that time was for him. Like the conference is to help people.

Joyce Meyer: I didn't try to reconcile it.

Erin Cluley: You just let it go.

Joyce Meyer: You know, one of the things that of course, you know, I've been doing this a long time, so obviously I've learned a lot. There's no point in trying to get answers to questions that only God has that he's probably not gonna tell you.

Erin Cluley: Yeah, oh, there's so much wisdom in that.

Joyce Meyer: I mean, there's so much, people, you drive yourself crazy trying to figure stuff out, you know.

Erin Cluley: Mm-hmm.

Joyce Meyer: I mean, I wrote a book during this time when I was down, it's called, "Don't overthink it". And it won't be out for a couple of years, but we just, we think about stuff and think about it, and think about it, and think about it. And we get ourselves so confused. And so, I found that just not thinking about it and just dealing with whatever I had to deal with each day.

Ginger Stache: Day by day.

Joyce Meyer: I mean, there's details to this that, you know, wouldn't be proper for me to tell on TV, but just, I mean, even like, I went through these different stages of how I could get to the bathroom. And I mean, everything from sliding out of bed on a sliding board to sliding into a wheelchair, to sliding onto the toilet, to sliding back. I mean, it was like it was an ordeal just to have to go to the bathroom. And, but I just took each thing as it came. And I slept good at night, which I was thankful for. And they brought my coffee pot up and I was thankful for that. I had my coffee every morning.

Ginger Stache: So, finding those things to be grateful for in the midst.

Joyce Meyer: I still got up like I do at home, four or five o'clock in the morning, had my time with God, and we don't really have, we make ourselves miserable when we have trouble.

Erin Cluley: We do.

Joyce Meyer: It's not really the trouble that makes us miserable. It's the way we look at it that makes us miserable.