The Masterpiece Nobody Expected

In the spring of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a ruined man. His operas had fallen out of fashion in London. Creditors circled. A stroke four years earlier had paralyzed his right arm, and many assumed his composing days were finished. At fifty-six, the world had written him off.

Then a libretto arrived from Charles Jennens — a collection of scripture passages tracing the story of the Messiah. Something stirred in Handel. He sat down at his desk and began to write. For roughly twenty-four days, he barely ate or slept. Music poured out of him — arias, choruses, orchestrations — as if heaven itself were dictating. When he finished the Hallelujah Chorus, a servant found him weeping. "I did think I did see all Heaven before me," Handel reportedly said, "and the great God Himself."

Messiah has been performed continuously for nearly three centuries. It has comforted the grieving, lifted the weary, and turned countless hearts toward the Almighty. And it came from a man the world had discarded.

The Apostle Paul understood this. "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair" (2 Corinthians 4:8). God does not wait for our circumstances to improve before He works through us. He often does His most extraordinary work through people at their lowest point.

Whatever has you feeling finished today, remember Handel at his desk — broken, bankrupt, and writing the most glorious music the world has ever heard. The God who inspired that work is not finished with you either.