American television personality and talk show host Elisabeth Hasselbeck recently discussed her past experience on ABC’s “The View,” a panel of female co-hosts that address issues in American culture. According to Hasselbeck, God “guided” her during her tenure on the show, where she claimed the “Holy Spirit just had my back.”
During a conversation with Christian actor Kirk Cameron, Hasselbeck noted how the Lord prepares people before placing them in positions where they are called to act. “I believe, whether it’s Survivor or your school lunch table or it’s your family situation — it’s all preparation,” she said. “God is not going to assign a platform to you without preparation in your heart first.”
Recounting her time on the talk show, the TV personality called the experience “a blessing and a privilege,” maintaining that she cherished certain moments. Hasselbeck illustrated her deep friendship with Whoopi Goldberg despite having little in common with each other.
“Whoopi and I, to this day, are great friends,” she shared. “We are nothing alike. However, we connect because we have a shared heart in loving people well, and we really do care about one another. We don’t have to see things the same way.”
Given that Hasselbeck held different viewpoints and beliefs than her fellow co-hosts, Cameron asked her how she dealt with the potential conflicts that arose. She explained that it was only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit that provides one the power to take on challenges with joy.
“The Holy Spirit just had my back,” Hasselbeck said. “When you try to do it in your own power, you lack joy. Your effort fails at some point, and you end up losing not just the battle of words and rhetoric and debate — you end up losing your spirit in it.” She added, “God just guided me, and I didn’t always do it perfectly, but I hope that overall it was glorifying to Him at the end of every day.”
Hasselbeck further discussed her time on the show in a book she wrote titled “Point of View: A Fresh Look at Work, Faith, and Freedom.” She claimed that, while the show may have a prevailing “singular” view, it did not interfere with the friendships that were formed.
“It was called THE VIEW, as in definite and singular,” she wrote in her book. “Yes, there were bonds of friendship formed around the table despite opposing views, but there were also bonds broken because of those differing perspectives.”
The former co-host of “The View” also touched on her relationship with Joy Behar, illustrating that they sometimes had tense interactions when sharing their differences in opinion. “For 10 years she and I debated, and reacting in those situations perhaps I could have offered a more tender witness to this awesome God- instead many times- I reacted,” Hasselbeck shared in a social media post. “Did I always show grace…sometimes not. And sometimes I felt the need to stand firm and be bold… For now, I pray to always be able to have grace filled #Godversations like this…”
Featured image: Barack_Obama_guests_on_The_View.jpg: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza from Washington, DCderivative work: Bdell555, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joy_Behar_-_Sherri_Shepherd_-_Elisabeth_Hasselbeck.jpg