2022-07-27
Elisabeth-Hasselbeck
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You may be wondering what happened to Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Back in 2015, following her departure from the View, Hasselbeck was a popular co-host on the Fox News Channel morning show, Fox and Friends. It appeared her career was at an all-time high. However, later that year, she announced she was leaving the show. After leaving the show, she was dedicated to spending more time with her family and getting closer to God.

In her new book, Point of View, Hasselbeck shares many insights she gained during her time as the only conservative co-host on The View along with other professional roles including working on the shows Survivor and Fox and Friends. She also shares important moments of her life’s story that have caused her to see things from a different perspective. Here are four faith lessons from Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

Listen to God’s voice and follow your purpose.

On The View she was recognized for her heated debates with co-hosts Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’ Donnell. What many people didn’t know was that she actually got along with her co-hosts off set and while she was let go from the show at the time, it had a profound influence on her life. Looking back, she sees how God placed her in that role for a reason.

“I can say without hesitation that my decade at ‘The View’ strengthened my mind, refined my citizen’s heart and sharpened my skill,” Hasselbeck said. “As small as my lone voice felt in the arena, I trusted that God had a purpose planted in it.

Your parents’ faith can greatly influence your life.

In her book, Hasselbeck shares with her readers the strong faith and resiliency her parents instilled in her from a young age. In an interview with Christianity Today, she talked in detail about the influence her mother and father had on her faith journey.

“Both my mom and date operated on a strong faith base. Faith was pretty much embossed in my brain, but it’s been stronger at some times than others. In high school you start to question things. I think any institution you’re part of for a long time, if you don’t question it, you’re too complacent. I think the famous quote ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’ is absolutely true.”

In the book, Hasselbeck also talks about how impactful her parents’ practicing forgiveness was in her life.

“They just have kind hearts. They have generous hearts. They just loved people. They just loved well. They were forgiving. When we messed up, they forgave us,” Hasselbeck said. “When we did something, they celebrated it, but not to a point that created a pride. And they just had this optimism and hope to them.”

Trust God’s point of view.

The book shows a deeply intimate journey of faith, along with her struggles. While it wasn’t always easy, she ultimately trusted God’s point of view. Through every stage of her life, including being a stay at home mom to being in broadcast television, she has trusted God’s influence. When she wasn’t sure what God was telling her to do, she tried harder to channel His voice and trust how she felt God was moving her.

One of the big reasons she left Fox and Friends was because of the impact it was having on her health. She began suffering with bouts of exhaustion.

“I would wake up and needed the word of God, yet I was still trying to do it on my own because I wasn’t sure that I was qualified enough to be there."
“I would wake up and needed the word of God, yet I was still trying to do it on my own because I wasn’t sure that I was qualified enough to be there,” Hasselbeck said. “Getting three hours of sleep for two years straight is unhealthy and brought me to my worst version of myself. I think my departure from Fox was me saying, ‘I give up. I’m trying, I don’t want to let this team down, but I don’t have it.’ I said it on my last day at Fox and when I announced it: ‘It’s time for my children and my family to get the best of me, not the rest of me.’”

It was then that she truly trusted God’s view and call for her life which was pointing her to her family and deeper relationship with Him.

Faith comes first.

Hasselbeck admits that she held onto various jobs that may not have been the best for her physical and mental health. However, she was able to learn through those professional experiences that sometimes you have to let go so that your faith can flourish and you can discover God’s calling for your life.

“God gave me permission to do what I would never have given myself permission to do. He gave me the permission to walk away from my job and leave something that was great – just not great for me at the time. There is a big difference, and I had just learned that the hard way. The lessons I learned about leaving well at The View would be applied as I left Fox. This time, however, I was not leaving because I had to but because I needed to.”

Hasselbeck learned what matters most is seeing ourselves as God sees us. Some of the greatest lessons she discovered during her professional experiences was standing up for her faith and convictions. In the beginning of her career, she spent a lot of time trying to earn the approval of others and of God. What she didn’t realize at the time was that God was working in her life to show her His point of view. His invitation was for her to rest in His calling, rest in His Word and rest fully in the truth of His Gospel. Yes, there were failures along the way but there were also great triumphs. Some lessons she had to learn the hard way but when she trusted God to fully work in her life, she found a freedom like she had never had before.

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