This month we have just one story that we wanted to highlight in our monthly survey of what God is doing in the culture. We feel a particular emphasis on godly restoration in the area of art and creativity. On top of what you’re about to read, this month marks the 50th anniversary of Woodstock. 50 is the number of Jubilee – which was a holiday centered around the restoring of property to its original owner. When you read the following story, which is a totally separate issue, you’ll see an exciting connection and confirmation of this…

A Joyful Noise 

Over 10 years ago, Christian rappers Flame and Lecrae releases a classic song called “A Joyful Noise.” The lyrics were on fire and the chorus sang glorious praises to the Father. It’s one of the all-time highlights of the Christian rap movement. Songs like these showed that Christian rap could be more than just music, but a vehicle for people to encounter the Father of lights. 

Christian rap has been through some ups and downs the past decade, struggling to find its voice. Overall, it has begun to find a wonderful balance of worship, joy, creativity, and also advocating for social justice issues. Two weeks ago, something happened in the news that seemed prophetic to us at Elisha’s Riddle. 

A lawsuit was settled between Katy Perry and Flame. It turns out, Perry’s Song “Dark Horse” had a very similar beat to it as Joyful Noise. It was settled in court that Flame was owed compensation for this. The word is that he will be receiving compensation in the range of millions of dollars. Dark Horse, after all, was a worldwide hit with over 2 billion (yes, BILLION) views on YouTube. She even performed it at the Super Bowl halftime show a few years back. 

So where are we going with this? Well, we feel, by the Spirit of prophecy, that we are now entering a season where a “Joyful Noise” is being released from heaven. The reality is, all true and pure creativity and music comes from God. We believe that Christian rap and creativity is a “Dark Horse” in this culture and that NOW is the time where Christian art is “getting its due.” 

Perry having to pay Flame back millions of dollars is a sign that God is giving favor to artists that point to Him. To further this point, it was amazing that the same week Flame won the lawsuit, NF and Chance the Rapper landed atop the music charts with their new albums, #1 and #2 respectively. Both of those artists are confessed Christians and they were on top of the entirety of all secular music charts. 

In conclusion, heaven is filled with a Joyful Noise and that’s what we also carry as believers. Even though Christian art has been on a long and sometimes confusing journey, the Father still has a plan to manifest wonderful and joyful creativity that reflects heaven. Be on the lookout for new artists and new songs that really carry something “heavenly.” It might not sound like a nice contemporary worship song, but you will know this new sound by its joy and creativity. The Father delights in the songs of His children!