The Composer Who Wrote Heaven From the Bottom

In the summer of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a broken man. The once-celebrated composer was deeply in debt, partially paralyzed from a stroke, and facing the real possibility of debtor's prison. His audiences had dwindled. His operas had failed. At fifty-six years old, every reasonable measure said his best work was behind him.

Then a libretto arrived from Charles Jennens — a collection of Scripture passages arranged to tell the story of the Messiah. Handel began to compose. For twenty-four days he barely ate or slept. Music poured out of him like water from a struck rock. When he finished the Hallelujah Chorus, his servant reportedly found him weeping. "I did think I did see all Heaven before me," Handel said, "and the great God Himself."

The result was Messiah — arguably the most beloved piece of sacred music ever written, performed continuously for nearly three centuries. And it was born not from a season of triumph, but from the lowest valley of a man's life.

This is how the Almighty works. He does not wait for us to climb out of the pit before He gives us something to sing. He meets us at the bottom and puts the melody in our mouths. The psalmist knew it: "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God" (Psalm 40:3).

Whatever valley you are walking through today, God is not waiting for you to recover before He uses you. He is composing something beautiful in you right now.