The Quit Option # 3

Hey friends,
Many of you may know that I love music. I actually enjoy all types of music, but as I was learning to play the piano, I was blessed to be able to learn the music of classical composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Handel.
I recently purchased a book entitled, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers by Patrick Kavanaugh. It is really a very interesting book and I am enjoying learning about the spiritual lives of the composers whose works I love and have enjoyed playing. Because the Easter season is approaching, I am always thrilled to hear Handel's Messiah. This also made me want to know more about his spiritual life.
So indulge me for a moment while I share what I learned from the book. Apparently George Frederic Handel had many setbacks during his musical career. Unlike his contemporaries, Handel didn't play and compose for the established church. Rather he struggled financially while playing and composing for secular theaters. According to Kavanaugh, Handel's struggles "left him confronting bankruptcy more than once" (29). Actually in 1741 Handel gave what he thought was his last performance before being sent to debtor's prison.
Like I shared in a previous post, God has been speaking strongly to me about the quit option and how taking it can deny me from the blessings he has for me. The same was true for Handel. He didn't give in to discouragement and despire when he didn't see results. Handel didn't take the quit option. Instead on April 13th of 1742 Handel's Messiah premiered as a charitable benefit. Handel's Messiah brought him out of debt and even more than that has changed lives throughout all history. While researching, one writer named Myers noted that Messiah "has probably done more to convience thousands of mankind that there is a God about us than all the theological works ever written." Pretty powerful statement, right?
Handel didn't take the quit option, why should I? Look at the powerful way God used Handel...He wants to do the same with you and me.