God’s Talent Scouts: Keeping Dreams Alive

by Royce

On one ordinary day, songwriter EJAE was driving to the dentist when a melody suddenly flooded her mind. She quickly recorded it on her phone—a voice memo that would become “Golden,” a song that topped the Billboard Hot 100 and made history.

But this wasn’t just a lucky moment. It was the culmination of a journey that began when she was eleven years old, training for almost a decade to become a K-pop idol. At twenty-three, she was told she was “too old” to debut. Her childhood dream collapsed.

What kept her going? People who refused to let her talent die.

After EJAE left SM Entertainment, she could have walked away from music entirely. Devastated and drowning in self-doubt, she didn’t know what to do with her life. Then something remarkable happened: She met Andrew Choi at church. At church—a songwriter who became her mentor. He brought her into songwriting camps. He believed in her when she struggled to believe in herself. He saw what she couldn’t see—that her story wasn’t over, just taking a different path.

This detail might seem small, but it’s profound. In the community of believers, God positioned the very person who would help resurrect her dream.

Years later, when EJAE was hired as a songwriter for “KPop Demon Hunters,” the directors kept hearing her voice on the demo recordings. They eventually gave her the role of singing voice for the lead character, Rumi. What started as a behind-the-scenes position became her breakthrough moment on the world stage.

When “Golden” hit number one, EJAE’s first thought was in Korean: “Numoo jalhessuh. Sugohaesseo.” “You did so well. You worked so hard. Good job.”

She was speaking to her eleven-year-old self—the little girl who never gave up.

Here’s the beautiful irony of EJAE’s story: She spent over a decade training to debut as a K-pop idol for Korean audiences. She was told she was too old, that her dream was over. But God had a different plan. On October 7, 2025, the real-life group Huntrix—with EJAE as the voice of Rumi—made their live performance debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Not a debut in Seoul for Korean fans. A debut on one of America’s most-watched stages, broadcast to millions around the world.

At age 33, EJAE finally got her debut. And it was bigger than anything her eleven-year-old self could have imagined.

Ephesians 3:20 declares: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

Sometimes God doesn’t give us what we asked for because He has something immeasurably greater in mind. EJAE asked to debut as a K-pop idol. God gave her a global phenomenon. She dreamed of Korean stages. God gave her The Tonight Show and potentially the Oscars.

The dream didn’t die when SM Entertainment let her go. It was just being redirected to a bigger stage than she ever imagined possible.

But here’s what we need to understand: The years between rejection and breakthrough weren’t wasted. They were essential.

Real success isn’t just about what you do or create. It’s about who you become.

EJAE didn’t just need a platform—she needed character strong enough to handle the platform. And character isn’t developed in the spotlight. It’s forged in the darkness.

1 Peter 5:10 promises: “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”

Psalm 105:19 says of Joseph: “till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true.”

Joseph spent years in slavery and prison before becoming second-in-command of Egypt. David spent years running from Saul before becoming king. Moses spent forty years in the wilderness before leading the exodus.

The darkness isn’t wasted. The waiting isn’t punishment. It’s character development.

Here’s a detail that’s easy to miss but impossible to ignore: EJAE met Andrew Choi at church.

Church isn’t just about Sunday services and worship songs. It’s about divine appointments. It’s about God positioning people in your path who will change your story. You never know what doors might open through faithful gathering with other believers.

Hebrews 10:24-25 instructs us: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

What if our calling as followers of Jesus includes being “God’s talent scouts”? We are surrounded by people carrying buried dreams—talents that were told they’re not good enough, too old, too late, or too insignificant.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Consider the power of encouragement in EJAE’s journey:

• Her mother heard her singing at age three and recognized something special
• Her uncle suggested she could be a singer
• Andrew Choi mentored her when she was devastated
• The directors kept listening to her demos and eventually gave her the starring role
• Countless others along the way said “keep going” when she wanted to quit

Each person played a part in keeping her dream alive. None of them could have known that a song written on the way to the dentist would one day make history. They simply saw someone worth believing in.

This week, I challenge you to be God’s talent scout for someone:

• Identify one person in your life who has a gift that seems buried or dormant
• Encourage them specifically—tell them what you see in them
• Connect them with an opportunity, resource, or person who could help them grow
• Pray for divine appointments in their life, trusting God’s timing

You might be the Andrew Choi in someone’s story. And if you’re reading this in your own lowest moment, remember: Keep gathering with God’s people. Divine appointments happen in the house of God.

Galatians 6:9 promises: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

“You did so well. You worked so hard. Good job.”

May we all hear these words from our Heavenly Father, and may we speak them often to those around us. Amen.