The Masterpiece That Came from the Ruins

In the summer of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a broken man. The composer who had once dazzled the courts of Europe was drowning in debt, partially paralyzed from a stroke, and watching his operas fail one after another. London's musical world had written him off. At fifty-six, Handel seemed finished.

Then a libretto arrived from Charles Jennens — a collection of scripture passages telling the story of the Messiah. Handel picked up his pen.

What happened next remains one of the most extraordinary creative outpourings in history. In roughly twenty-four days, Handel composed the entirety of Messiah — 259 pages of music that would become one of the most beloved works of sacred art ever created. His servant reportedly found him in tears after completing the "Hallelujah Chorus." Handel told him, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself."

Grace works like that. It doesn't wait for us to get our lives together. It meets us in the ruins — in the debt, the paralysis, the failure — and says, "I'm not finished with you yet." The Almighty didn't need Handel at his strongest. He chose Handel at his weakest.

Paul understood this when he wrote, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." The God who breathed the universe into being specializes in composing masterpieces from broken instruments.

Whatever ruin you're standing in this morning, it may be exactly where your Messiah begins.