Have you ever noticed how some of the most breathtaking sunrises come after the hardest storms?
For several years, my parents lived in a small, rural town in Missouri, surrounded by rolling prairie land that stretched farther than the eye could see. To this day, some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets I have ever witnessed were from the back porch of their little home.
I especially remember the mornings that followed an evening of heavy rain or thunderstorms. The sky seemed painted with colors I could never quite capture in a photograph, and the air somehow felt sweeter, cleaner, and almost as though all of creation had taken a deep breath during the night. There was a quiet beauty that seemed possible only because a storm had come before it.
Maybe you have experienced something similar.
There is something about the morning after rain that reminds us that darkness never has the final word. As I have reflected on those mornings over the years, I have often found my mind returning to one of the most beloved passages in all of Scripture. Ironically, this passage was written from the ashes of unimaginable devastation.
Hope in the Middle of Heartbreak
The book of Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah after the destruction of Jerusalem, one of the darkest moments in Israel’s history. The city had fallen. The temple, the place where God’s people gathered to worship, had been reduced to rubble. Families had been torn apart and homes destroyed. Everywhere Jeremiah looked, he was surrounded by the heartbreaking consequences of sin and judgment. It is no wonder that the opening verses of chapter three are filled with language of affliction, bitterness, wandering, and grief. Jeremiah does not rush past his pain or pretend it does not exist. Instead, he brings every ounce of it honestly before the Lord.
I find such comfort in this. I think many of us quietly assume that strong faith means pretending everything is okay. We sometimes believe we must hide our grief, suppress our questions, or quickly move toward hope before we have fully acknowledged our sorrow. Yet Jeremiah shows us something profoundly different. Genuine faith does not ignore suffering. It brings suffering into the presence of God, trusting that He is able to meet us there.
Several years ago, I walked through a season of deep grief that seemed to color every part of my life. During that season, a mentor gently encouraged me to pray through Lamentations 3 every single morning. I remember wondering why she would choose this particular chapter. Wouldn’t it make more sense to read something happier? Something that felt more immediately encouraging? Yet as I slowly prayed through these verses day after day, I began to discover something I never would have understood otherwise.
Hope is never more breathtaking than when it is found in the middle of heartbreak.
God’s Loyal Kindness
Everything changes in verse twenty-one. Jeremiah writes, “But this I call to mind; therefore I have hope.” Those words may seem simple at first glance, but they mark one of the most beautiful turning points in all of Scripture.
Jeremiah’s circumstances had not changed. Jerusalem was still in ruins. The grief was still real, the loss still devastating, and the future still uncertain. The miracle was not that his surroundings suddenly looked different, but that he intentionally lifted his eyes to remember the unchanging character of God.
He continues, “The LORD’s loyal kindness never ceases; his compassions never end. They are fresh every morning; your faithfulness is abundant” (Lamentations 3:22).
What astonishing words to be spoken from the middle of devastation.
Jeremiah’s hope was never rooted in the possibility that life would quickly become easier. It was rooted in something infinitely steadier than changing circumstances. The Hebrew word translated “loyal kindness” speaks of God’s covenant love, His steadfast, unwavering commitment to His people that is not shaken by their circumstances. Even in the midst of discipline, His compassion had not run dry. Even while Jerusalem lay in ruins, God’s mercy had not been exhausted. Every sunrise testified that His faithfulness had outlasted another night.
Beauty Found in Suffering
During a summer I spent on mission a few years ago in Nagoya, Japan, I learned about a centuries-old art form called kintsugi. Rather than hiding cracks in broken pottery, artisans carefully mend each fracture using lacquer mixed with powdered gold. Instead of disguising what has been shattered, they intentionally highlight it. Remarkably, the restored piece is often considered even more valuable than it was before it broke because its story has become part of its beauty.
Ever since learning about kintsugi, I have found myself thinking about it whenever I read passages like this. Not because suffering itself is beautiful. Scripture never asks us to celebrate pain. Rather, it reminds us that we worship a God who is so infinitely wise, so endlessly merciful, and so breathtakingly faithful that nothing surrendered into His hands is ever wasted.
He is the same God who, in Isaiah 61, promises to give His people “a crown of beauty instead of ashes.” He is the God who patiently restores shattered hearts, not by pretending the cracks never existed but by filling them with the golden evidence of His redeeming grace.
Perhaps this is why Jeremiah goes on to say, “My portion is the LORD, I have said to myself, so I will put my hope in him” (Lamentations 3:24). His hope no longer rested in what God might give him, but in God Himself. He discovered what every human heart is longing to discover, that our deepest security has never been found in comfortable circumstances, predictable futures, or earthly blessings, but in belonging to the God whose faithfulness never changes.
Isn’t this the invitation before us today?
His Faithfulness is Abundant
Our world constantly encourages us to anchor our hope in things that cannot ultimately hold us. We are tempted to believe that peace will come when the diagnosis changes, when the relationship is restored, when the finances improve, or when life finally unfolds according to our plans. While many of these desires are good, they were never meant to carry the weight of our ultimate hope. They are simply too fragile. Only the Lord Himself is sturdy enough to bear the full weight of our hearts.
This is why these verses continue to steady weary souls generation after generation. Every sunrise quietly proclaims that God’s mercy has not run out. Every new day announces that His compassion has not been depleted by yesterday’s failures or today’s grief. Every morning reminds us that His faithfulness does not depend upon our strength to hold onto Him, but upon His unwavering commitment to hold onto us.
Take a moment to read these verses again slowly, allowing their beauty to settle into your heart as you consider the steadfast love of the God who has remained faithful through every season of your life.
“The LORD’s loyal kindness never ceases; his compassions never end. They are fresh every morning; your faithfulness is abundant!” (Lamentations 3:22-23)
May these words become far more than verses we have memorized. May they become the quiet song beneath every season of joy and every season of sorrow, reminding us that the God who carried us yesterday will faithfully meet us again today. And may each morning, no matter how ordinary it seems, gently lift our eyes to the One whose mercies never cease, whose compassion never fails, and whose faithfulness will endure long after every storm has passed.
Jesus, thank you that your faithfulness is not dependent upon my circumstances but upon your unchanging character. When grief clouds my vision, teach me to remember who you are. Lift my eyes above what is temporary, anchor my heart in your steadfast love, and help me trust that your mercies truly are new every morning. In Jesus’s name, amen.
