"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." — Lamentations 3:22-23

Can anything help us rise above an experience that was unforgettably hard? Perhaps experiencing something more spectacular, so remarkable it can overshadow our pain. We see that in childbirth, which can be excruciatingly painful. But when a baby is born, a mother can look past all the pain in the joy and delight of her newborn infant.

But can we do that in the middle of pain, when the pain is not in the past but rather is still present?

Jeremiah shows us how. He was in anguish for both himself and his people. He felt hopeless and trampled on, certain he would never forget the awful time he’d just been through. He was certain God was against him and outlined his agony in a breathless stream of anger and discouragement (Lam. 3:1–20).

Then, Jeremiah suddenly stopped in the middle of his complaint and looked at God. After his cascade of words, he was noticeably calmer. He began seeing through a different lens, drawing close and remembering who God is. Perhaps in trusting God with all his rage and disappointment, in holding nothing back and sharing exactly how he felt, Jeremiah could finally let go of his despair.

After Jeremiah seemed to say everything he could think of, he paused to remember God’s faithfulness. Then Jeremiah uttered what is perhaps the greatest shift in all of Scripture as he said: “This I call to mind and therefore I have hope.” In the midst of torment, Jeremiah chose to remember something greater.

Nothing had changed in Jeremiah’s life. But as he considered the character of God, he saw his situation differently. He remembered God’s unfailing love and mercy. God’s faithfulness. God’s blessings that were new every morning.

Remembering and rehearsing what’s true about God is a critical step to walking well in suffering. Remembering that everything in our lives flows out of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Remembering that God loves us fiercely and will never leave us. And remembering that our hope is not in changed circumstances but in the character of God. He is our living hope.

Dramatic turnarounds like Jeremiah’s—when no light has dawned, when no miracles have delivered you, when you’re still living amid the unthinkable—may seem impossible. If you’re willing to stare straight into the abyss with God, telling Him all that you’re feeling and seeing, leaning hard into Him in your pain, you will experience a cataclysmic shift in your soul. It may be sudden or gradual, but it will surely come. Your faith will take on a supernatural strength and confidence. And you will know, from experience and not just academically, how the greatest turns in our faith, our greatest revelations of God, come from our greatest pain.

Today’s devotion is an excerpt from Vaneetha Risner’s upcoming devotional Watching for the Morning—the perfect read for anyone facing uncertainty, loss, or unanswered prayers.