Twenty-Four Days of Fire

In 1741, George Frideric Handel was a broken man. At fifty-six, he was drowning in debt. A stroke had partially paralyzed his right hand. London audiences had abandoned him, and critics declared his career finished. He had every reason to believe his purpose had expired.

Then a libretto arrived from Charles Jennens — a collection of scripture passages telling the story of the Messiah. Something stirred in Handel that no biographer has ever fully explained. He sat down at his desk and began to compose. For twenty-four days he worked in a kind of holy frenzy, barely eating, rarely leaving his room. Page after page poured out of him — arias, choruses, orchestrations of staggering beauty. When his servant brought him food, he often found Handel weeping over the manuscript. After completing the "Hallelujah Chorus," Handel reportedly said, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself."

The result was Messiah — a work that has been performed continuously for nearly three centuries, pointing millions of souls toward the living Christ.

Handel thought his story was over. The Almighty knew it was just reaching its climax.

Some of you are sitting in a season where you feel spent, sidelined, past your usefulness. But the God who breathed purpose into you at the beginning has not run out of plans for your life. Your most important work may not be behind you. It may be the very next thing He places in your hands.