Bible Teacher Joyce Meyer Shares How Overcoming Any Problem Is Easier Than You Think—Here's The Secret

Whether it's financial difficulties, heartache, grief, anger, fear or just plain having a bad day, overcoming challenges is the one thing can all relate to. But what if, come what may, we could say, "Hey, it's not so bad," and still feel a deep sense of joy and peace? Christian author, speaker and philanthropist Joyce Meyer — who is beloved by millions for her sassy, straight-shooting sermons, her show Enjoying Everyday Life, conferences and more than 100 tell-it-like-it-is bestselling books — has found the key to facing our problems, big and small.

How To Be An 'Overcomer'

In her newest scripture-based guide, Overcoming Every Problem, Joyce shares the many promises God has made to help us not just rise above the challenges we all must face, but to also live a life full of abundance despite them.

“I always knew Jesus died to save me from my sins,” Joyce writes, “but I was not aware that He also died for me to have an abundant life, a life I could enjoy. God has healed my wounded soul through the power of His Word. No matter what has caused your pain or how deep the wounds may be, I can assure you that God will also heal you and teach you how to be an overcomer in life.”

Here, the 80-year-old spitfire shares how she got through abuse, disappointment and pain, and the Bible-based tips that can help you become an overcomer.

How To Overcome doubt

It may surprise you that the renowned Bible teacher would begin her journey with a crisis of faith, but in 1976, Joyce Meyer found herself stuck in a spiritual rut.

“I had come to a point in my life where I just finally realized that although I was attending church, saying prayers, doing everything I knew to do, I just didn’t really have any victory in my life. I had no peace, no joy, and I was just frustrated a lot," Joyce recalls of that period of time. "Everything was a problem. My husband and I argued a lot. I also had a lot of issues in my life from being sexually abused by my dad that I didn’t really realize were still affecting me.”

But on one fateful day while driving to work in Missouri, something shifted—and Joyce’s heartache came to a boiling point. “I finally broke down and called out to God, ‘You just have to do something!’" she says. "I didn’t care too much about what He did, as long as He did something.”

Suddenly, Joyce heard something that changed everything. “I actually heard the voice of God. I heard Him speak to me—I wasn’t accustomed to that!” she says with a laugh. “He said something only I would understand, but God suddenly became very real and He filled me full of His love. That's when I sensed God’s call to teach the word…and my life was never the same.”

How To Find Purpose

From that point forward, Joyce felt a new fire for her faith, and started leading an early-morning Bible class at a local cafeteria for 25 of her coworkers and becoming an active member of Life Christian Center, a charismatic church in Fenton, Missouri. Not only did she feel different, but people also began to notice a difference in her demeanor—one man in her Saturday night bowling league even commented on how she’d changed.

“That night, I wasn’t bowling very well. I sensed in my heart that I should ask God to help me bowl, but then I thought, Well that’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard! I’m not going to bother God with something like that,” Joyce recalls with a laugh. “But that was my first taste of realizing that God wants to be involved in every area of my life. That’s what close fellowship is.”

Within a few years, Joyce had become the church’s associate pastor, and the church itself grew in large part to her popularity as a Bible teacher and her 15-minute radio broadcast on a St. Louis radio station. And as her Bible study swelled from 25 people to 50, then 100, Joyce’s ministry began to take shape—and today, more than 40 years later, it has swelled into the millions.

How To Overcome Rejection

For Joyce, that success is a result of learning to accept rejection as a form of grace. “We were created for acceptance, so rejection is painful, but we'll all experience it in some form,” she explains. “But we have to come to a point where we’re not going to be devastated every time someone doesn’t approve of us. I’ve discovered that it’s more important that we learn to become a God pleaser than a people pleaser. If we don’t please people, they can reject us—but God won’t ever do that.”

Read on for more tips from Joyce’s new book to help you face any problem:

How To Overcome Anger

"Jesus says we must forgive our enemies, pray for them, and bless them (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27–28). This seems to be unfair, and it is difficult emotionally, so most people simply don’t do it," Joyce writes. "Someone who has hurt you may not deserve your forgiveness, but you deserve peace. Forgiving them will give you peace. Many people are filled with bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness, which opens a door for their enemy, Satan, to enter their lives and bring destruction. They may be familiar with the Word, but because they are not willing to apply it, it won’t bring the freedom and healing that they need.”

How To Overcome Pain

“Sometimes healing comes quickly, and sometimes it is a long process, but we know that God is our Healer, and He heals in His ways and in His timing. We don’t get to choose how or when God heals us, but we know that He will, because this is what His Word tells us.” A healing passage Joyce refers to when she needs healing? "My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh (Proverbs 4:20–22)."

How To Overcome Despair

“If we are discouraged or in despair or if we feel depressed, we can go to the Psalms and read how David, who wrote many of the Psalms, often felt the same way. But the Psalms also show us how David trusted God to lift him out of the pit and deliver him from the destruction his enemies had planned for him (Psalm 40). The good news is that Jesus has already provided all we need for healing and help in any area of our life. All we need to do is claim it as ours and remind ourselves that the devil is a liar.”

How To Overcome Fear

“A shield protects us, and God is a shield to all who put their trust in Him. This doesn’t mean that Satan cannot attack us, but it does mean that he cannot do us any permanent harm. Jesus says that in the world we will have 'tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world' (John 16:33).'"

“Multiple times in the Bible, God tells us that we don’t have to be afraid because He is with us (Joshua 1:9, Matthew 1:23, 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). We don’t even have to know how He plans to help us; all we need to know is that He loves us and is with us. He says in Isaiah 41:10: 'So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.'”