From the Crowd to the Stage

Last year I took my niece to a Christian rap concert.

We stood amongst a sea of other people, watching this rapper open for a bigger name. My brother-in-Christ came with me, and I had just finished making my album. But it wouldn't come out for another whole year.

I liked being in the crowd.

Honestly, I didn't want to be on stage. I'd rather make my music quietly, put it out there, and let it do what God wants. No shows. No spotlight. Just give my musical gifts to God to point people to Jesus and call it good.

But God had other plans.

My bro looked at me during the show, pointed at the stage, and said: "Are you ready to get up there?"

"Huh, what you mean?"

"You next. You gonna be up there soon. Get ready."

I had mixed feelings about what he said. Part of me wondered if he was right. Part of me hoped he wasn't.

Fast forward one year later: I'm about to open at Westfest 2025 - one of the biggest Christian festivals in Southern California. And guess who I'm opening for? The same rapper who was opening for the bigger rapper last year.

Suddenly I'm going from audience member to stage performer. It feels like it happened overnight.

But here's what I learned from Isaiah: God's "sudden" breakthroughs aren't really sudden at all.

When God Changes Everything Overnight

"In the evening, sudden terror! Before the morning, they are gone" (Isaiah 17:14).

This verse is about God's judgment on Damascus and Israel's enemies. In one night, God wiped out the armies that were about to destroy His people. What looked impossible became inevitable between sunset and sunrise.

Now, Isaiah wasn't talking directly about personal breakthroughs here. But the same God who can change whole kingdoms overnight can definitely change your situation too.

Just as God turned what looked like defeat into sudden victory for His people, He can take our waiting seasons and show His plan in ways that seem sudden but were actually prepared all along.

My album sat finished for a whole year before it came out. That felt like wasted time. But God was working behind the scenes. He was moving pieces I couldn't even see.

Isaiah's Vision of Heaven's Throne Room

Isaiah had an amazing experience most people never get. In chapter 6, he saw God "high and lifted up" with six-winged angels crying "Holy, holy, holy." Isaiah was seeing God's throne room.

Some parts of the Bible talk about God's heavenly council where He makes decisions about earthly kingdoms. Isaiah's vision reminds us of this - that there's way more happening in the spiritual world than we can see.

Some spiritual beings rebelled against God and became the demons behind much of the evil we see today. But when God decides to move, their schemes fall apart overnight.

I believe God spoke through my brother that night. The festival opportunity wasn't just social media luck. That was God opening doors right on schedule.

God's timing looks random to us because we can't see the spiritual battle happening behind everything.

From Vision to Victory

Isaiah spoke God's messages for 40-60 years under four different kings. That's not overnight success. That's decades of being faithful before seeing big results.

But when his prophecies started coming true, it looked sudden to everyone watching.

Jesus Himself quoted Isaiah more than any other prophet. Why? Because Isaiah understood God's long-term plan. He saw Jesus on the throne 700 years before Jesus was born and kept pointing people toward Him.

My music journey follows this same pattern:

• Waiting season: Album finished but sitting unreleased, no platform in sight

• Prophetic word: Brother speaking what God was already planning

• More waiting: Wondering if what he said was real

• Breakthrough: From audience to Westfest 2025

Everything Points Back to Jesus

Here's what Isaiah understood that we often miss: Every breakthrough, every miracle, every time God changes things suddenly is ultimately about Jesus bringing everything back to order.

Isaiah saw Jesus before Jesus was born. He knew the ending before the story started. All the political chaos, all the rebellious nations, all the overnight judgments were just clearing the path for the coming King.

My music career isn't about me. It's about using the gifts God gave me to point people back to Him.

When people ask how I went from audience to stage so fast, I want them to wonder about the God who makes that kind of breakthrough happen. I want them to read their Bible again and understand that everything - including their own story - points to Jesus.

Same Message, Different Stages

God calls people from different backgrounds to different stages with the same Gospel.

Not everyone likes rap music. That's fine. The point is using our gifts to reach people, and we all have different gifts. Mine just happens to be in music.

But whether your Uber is your pulpit or you're rapping on a festival stage, the mission is the same: point people to Jesus as the only way to be saved. My mother told me about this Uber driver who plays Christian music for his passengers and uses it as a gateway to talk about the Lord. Same Gospel, different platform.

What's Your Waiting Season?

What looks like your "waiting season" right now might actually be God's preparation phase.

Maybe your gifts feel unused. Maybe your calling feels delayed. Maybe you're sitting in the audience watching others on the stage you think you should have.

People who trust God don't fear bad news because they know God is in control (Psalm 112:7). That's the kind of faith that survives the waiting season and celebrates the breakthrough.

When your breakthrough comes, will people know it points to Jesus?

The goal isn't personal success. It's showing God's kingdom in a way that draws people back to the Way, Truth, and Life.

That’s it for today

keep JOY, live Disciplined