A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers

Psalm 40:2, “He brought me up also out of a horrible pit.”  Robert E. Reccord, in his book, When Life is the Pits (Fleming H. Revell Co., Publisher), shares this story. August 22, 1741, was a sweltering day in the city of London. An elderly stooped-shouldered man wandered through the streets. His nightly aimless wandering had become a familiar ritual. His angry mind raced back to the memories of great adulation and then looked at a future of seemingly hopeless despair. For forty years the bachelor had written operatic music which was the rave of royalty in both England and the entire continent. Honors had fallen at his feet. Then things changed quickly and drastically. Fellow musicians became jealous and bitter. Members of the royal court reacted strongly to his abrasive manner. A rival gained great success, and envy began to grow. As though that were not enough, a cerebral hemorrhage paralyzed his right side. He could no longer write. Doctors gave little hope for recovery.  One night after wondering the streets, he returned home to find a wealthy gentleman waiting in his living room. The man was Charles Gibbon.  Gibbon explained that he had just finished writing a text for a musical that covered the entire Old and New Testament. He believed that the gifted musician was the man to set it to music. He gave the manuscript to the composer and challenged him to write. As he walked out the door, Gibbon turned long enough to say, “The Lord gave me those words.”  The old maestro, who thought his best days were behind him, was none other than George Frederick Handel.  He picked up his pen and began to write. Music seemed to flow through his mindas though it had been penned up for years. Twenty-four days later, Handel completed his landmark work, “Messiah.”  So incredible was the “Hallelujah Chorus,” that during the inaugural performance, King George II stood in reverence to the Lord.  Perhaps like Handel, you may think there are no more symphonies to compose; that your best years are in the past.  The only future, it seems, facing you is one of hopelessness and despair.  But God’s word to you today is, there are yet more arrangements in your heart that are yet to be composed.  Your best is yet to come.  The symphonies God will release from your life will cause your past works to pale in comparison.  So today, pick up that pen you have long abandoned, and once again, allow God to release the music from your life with this new day.