Healing the Broken

We can rejoice because of the work that the Lord is doing, transforming lives, binding up the broken
hearts and restoring relationships with Himself. Jesus said in John 14:
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

If life is unsettled for us, if trouble has come and seemingly set up residence in our lives, we can look to the power of the Holy Spirit - He will bring God's Word to our minds and will minister His peace to our hearts.  God wants us to be whole, in a right relationship with Himself; He wants to repair the broken places and shine His light in the recesses of our hearts and minds where the enemy had done damage.  He wants to be active in our lives, as we surrender to Jesus and allow Him to do His loving work.

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God is so faithful, and we can give Him glory when we have seen Him move, and live with an
expectation of what He will do in someone's life, including our own. Psalm 34 says:
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

A decade ago, Jeannie Ortega was on her way to pop stardom, or so it seemed. According to her website, her first single, Crowded ended up in the Top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and was certified Gold on radio airplay.  Her debut album, No Place Like Brooklyn, released in 2006, debute at number 1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and charted in the Top 200. She spent the summer of 2006 as the sole opening act for international pop star Rihanna.

The Christian Today website recently did a story on Jeannie - her childhood was definitely troubled. The article says that:

She dabbled in drugs and even contemplated suicide several times. But her true downward spiral began when she got involved in the religion called Santeria, which is a form of witchcraft that originated in Africa.

Through Santeria, Ortega conjured spirits through chanting and offering food and drink sacrifices. Even then, Ortega could feel Jesus tugging on her heartstrings, but she dismissed His calls.

The article quotes from a Christian Post story - she says: "I could feel an internal battle within me. I felt like there was something that wanted to come in — [but] there was something in me that was fighting back. I didn't know that the Holy Spirit even existed, really. So I didn't know that it was God, but there was something in me fighting back."  The story from the Post actually said that she had participated in a Halloween feast when she felt the presence of God.

She was signed to a record deal at age 16, and around that time, she says she saw that "people could have an intimate relationship with God."  Christian Today refers to one church visit, when Jeannie had a profound experience with Him:

During that visit, Ortega finally allowed the Holy Spirit to move inside her. All of a sudden, Ortega dropped to her knees, began to weep, and released all of the bitterness, pain and anger that she had bottled up over the years.

"I didn't know why I couldn't control what I felt and why I was crying, but I know it was God — beyond a shadow of a doubt I know it was God," she said.

In her bio, she says, "Eventually I fell madly in love with Jesus and could not stop talking about Him everywhere I went. Being that I was signed to Disney’s record company they did not want to have any of that "God" talk because I was the bad girl of the label. My life began to authentically change from the inside out; and eventually I was dropped in the middle of recording album # 2."

She went through a difficult time at a church, but while there, she met her husband.  They ended up at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. She writes:

Now, I just finished recording my first “official” Christian record, am a part of the Brooklyn Tabernacle singers and have learned that all of the hurt I went through as a believer was part of the development of my character as an ambassador of Christ. The best part of it all is that I never lost my praise; I’m still madly in love with Jesus.

This year, the day after Halloween became a day of celebration of her new album, Love Changed Me.

I think this story illustrates several things we can contemplate:

For one thing, you can see God's faithfulness, even when Jeannie did not know Christ.  You know, I believe that God is pursuing every one, because I believe, according to 2nd Peter chapter 3, He wants all to come into a relationship with Himself.  And, I know when praying for the lost, I pray for spiritual sensitivity.  Some hear his voice and respond.  In Jeannie's case, it was during a dark hour when she was dabbling in practices that were not honoring to God.  But He was there for her, and He's there for us - before and after we make Jesus our Lord and Savior.

It also occurs to me that people may have a public persona, but you never know what God is doing in someone's heart.  And, the Holy Spirit is more than capable of changing a life.  So, we can be encouraged that He is working in high-profile people, and perhaps working in the hearts of people you know - even family members, preparing hearts to receive what He has in store for them.   And, we can rejoice when we see or hear about how the Spirit of God has moved in a person's life, orchestrating events and healing and transforming hearts for His glory.