The Symphony He Almost Never Wrote

In 1741, George Frideric Handel was a broken man. At fifty-six, he was drowning in debt, partially paralyzed from a stroke, and largely forgotten by the London audiences that had once adored him. By every measure, his best years were behind him. Most people — Handel included — assumed his life's work was finished.

Then a libretto arrived from Charles Jennens, scripture passages arranged to tell the story of Christ from prophecy through resurrection. Something ignited in the aging composer. Over the next twenty-four days, Handel barely ate or slept. He wept as he wrote. When he finished the "Hallelujah Chorus," his servant reportedly found him with tears streaming down his face.

The result was Messiah — arguably the most beloved choral work in history, still performed nearly three centuries later.

Handel thought his purpose had expired. He was wrong. The Almighty had been preparing him through every triumph, every failure, every note he had ever written, for the work that would outlast them all.

Some of you feel like your best days are behind you. You wonder whether God still has use for you. But the Lord's purposes do not come with expiration dates. As Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us, He knows the plans He has for you. The masterpiece He has written into your life may be the one you have not yet composed.