Sid Roth welcomes Debbie Rich

SID:  Hello Sid Roth here your investigative reporter, right here with Debbie Rich,  and again I am so looking forward to interviewing Debbie, because you see Debbie, went through a situation were Debbie should have been knocked out before she ever got started.  I mean it is almost as if the devil knew that if he could knock her out he could prevent what was happening and is happening right now.  Debbie why in the world did you marry a man that was so, so abusive?

DEBBIE:  Well I didn’t know that he was.

SID:  Obviously

DEBBIE:  He was in a church and he was supposed to be a spirit filled Christian; said he would go to Bible school with me; said he would be behind me in the ministry.  And that is what I believed.  But I found out tragically, the morning after our wedding that that was not the case; and suffered abuse for the next 18 years of every kind

SID:  So then that begs the question, why did you put up with it for 18 years?  Now by the way, you and I have discussed this previously; you know that God ordains marriage; you are against divorce; God does not want divorce; that is not the best, but when a woman is being abused verbally and physically they have got to separate.  Why did you put up with it for 18 years?

DEBBIE:  Well I grew up old time Pentecostal theology, were I felt that if I was ever divorced, that my ministry would be over.  I felt like marriage was for life, and if I had enough faith and if I believed hard enough, that he would make a turn.

SID:  Yes, but I mean what you went through no other woman should have to go through.

DEBBIE:  No, no woman should have to go through it.

SID:  For instance, you were talking about the birth of your first child, tell me about that.

DEBBIE:  Well, when I became pregnant with him the first thing he said: if I am lucky you will have a miscarriage.  And then he said you are not going to see a doctor the entire time.  And he said I am going to deliver the baby, and we lived out in the country

SID:  Why would he deliver the baby?

DEBBIE:  Because he, he was so consumed with lust, that his thinking was perverted.  And he said no man is going to look at my wife except me.  And he got some books and studied them about delivering a baby.  And we lived out in the country about 20 miles from the closest hospital.  And the baby had crowned at about 3:00 in the afternoon; he could see the top of the head, and by 6:00 p.m., I still had not delivered.   When my mother in law came and saw the condition that I was in; and saw that I was almost dead, and she called the rescue squad.  And that made him angry; and he said no one else will take her.  So he lifted me up and threw me in the back seat of the station wagon; and we proceeded over 25 miles of bumpy country roads to the hospital.  The doctor said he would have never been born and we would’ve both died had we not finally made it to the hospital.

SID:  Well did your husband come to his senses then and say I am sorry?

DEBBIE:  No he didn’t.   As a matter of fact, my father walked in and said to him (who was a very easy going man), and he never said anything to him; but on that occasion, he said son, you are very fortunate that your wife and your son are alive.  And he just looked at him.  And when my dad left the hospital, he said your dad better not ever talk to me like that again.  Although he did let me see a doctor with the next two sons, so he must of come to his senses somewhat, but he would never apologize.

SID:  But along the way, in those 18 years, God knows what we can take.   And he never puts us in a situation beyond what we can handle, according to the word of God.  You literally had a heavenly experience, tell me about that.

DEBBIE:  Oh yes, in 1984, when I felt like I could not go on any longer; with the abuse and with his affairs, I went to a church service in Nebraska, where I grew up.  And the Evangelist had quoted me specifically.  He said someone here is going through so much; and you said that you felt like you were living in a desert; and you’re never going to come out the other side. And I finally went up for prayer after two sessions of that.  And he rebuked a spirit of depression.  And he said now tomorrow when you are doing your housework, that thing will try to come back on you when you are in the same set of circumstances.  He said you have got to praise the Lord; you have got to read the word more than you have in a long time and just get into prayer.  And sure enough that day my husband and I had got into an argument he went off to work and I thought oh, last night’s experience was great, but here I am in the same set of circumstances. And then I realize no, I am not going to succumb to this.  And so I knelt down by my bed and began to pray, and just worshiped the Lord; and told him I love him no matter what.  And after, I am only guessing, probably 30 or 40 minutes of that, I actually saw myself leaving my body; and ascending through the roof of the house.   And I thought what is going on?  And then I was in the presence of the Lord, himself.  I wasn’t inside the heavenly city; I knew that I was outside the city somewhere, but the Lord was in front of me.  And all of the questions I always thought I would ask; anything I ever thought of was immediately was communicated back to me the answer before I could even open up my mouth; it was spirit to spirit.  And the things that I always thought were important suddenly weren’t.  And all that I was aware of were looking into the eyes, of liquid love.  And the Lord began to talk to me again, spirit to spirit, about the glory that I would participate in; how the call of God had been upon my life since before I was even conceived; and that I would see the fulfillment of that.  And to center in onto him and his word and his presence and his glory, and that he would take care of me through anything.

SID:  Debbie your husband was unfaithful many times, he physically abused you, he mentally abused you.  You put up with it because you felt you had to, and you wanted to see him saved, and your marriage work, and you wanted ministry.

DEBBIE:  Yes

SID:  And you felt that would stop you from ever having a ministry,

DEBBIE:  Right.

SID:  But I guess the last straw was when he ran off with the worship leader of the church in Alaska that you were pastoring.

DEBBIE:  Yes,

SID:  And did he divorce you at that time?

DEBBIE:  I actually, after one last abusive session; after I caught them together and confronted them; he said he would go to counseling.  We went to counseling one night and as soon as we got home from that he began to verbally abuse me again; and shoved me against the wall; and when he did, he said I wish I would have never lived a day with you!  And when he did I heard the Holy Spirit say on the inside, tell him he doesn’t have to anymore.  You are free.  You don’t have to live like this anymore.  He has been given opportunity after opportunity.   And so I looked up and I just heard the Holy Spirit speak;  you don’t have to live with me anymore  and I will not live with you anymore, without you making a change, and I actually told him…

SID:  And did he marry then that worship…

DEBBIE:  Yes, he lived with her for a while,

SID:  Let me tell you we are going to be back in a moment, but Debbie has experienced the true glory of God.  I believe that we are going to have an outpouring on this show, don’t go away; be right back.