When a Broken Man Heard Heaven

In the summer of 1741, George Frideric Handel was a ruined man. The composer who had once captivated the courts of Europe was fifty-six, his health fragile after a devastating stroke four years earlier, his finances crumbling, and his reputation in tatters. His recent productions had failed one after another. London's critics wrote him off. He considered leaving England for good.

Then a libretto arrived from Charles Jennens — scripture passages woven together to tell the story of the Messiah. Something stirred. Handel sat down at his desk on August 22 and began to write.

For twenty-four days, he barely ate or slept. Music poured out of him like water from a struck rock. His servant found meals untouched and the composer weeping over his manuscript. After finishing the "Hallelujah Chorus," Handel reportedly said, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself."

In just over three weeks, a broken man produced Messiah — a work that has proclaimed the glory of the Almighty for nearly three centuries.

Faith does not require that we be whole. The God who spoke through Balaam's donkey and raised dry bones to life has never needed a perfect vessel. He asks only that we sit down, pick up whatever instrument we have left, and begin.