Bible Verses About Hope in Hard Times (Encouragement to Keep Your Faith Strong)
What are some of the best Bible verses about hope in hard times? Here are 11 encouraging quotes from scripture that I pray will help keep your faith strong amid life’s many struggles. I’ve also tried to expand a little on each verse’s meaning.
Why are Bible verses about hope in hard times so important?
Well, put simply, life gets really, really hard sometimes. Christians know this, too. And it’s during our most challenging moments that we need to turn to God’s Word more than ever.
To be clear, God never ever promised us a totally carefree life with no stress and problems. I mean, just ask the early Israelites. They didn’t exactly have it easy!
However, our heavenly Father has indeed blessed us – His followers – with plenty of timeless encouragement. Through the life of Jesus and many instances across the Bible, God consistently declares His willingness to comfort us during life’s difficult periods. He also promises to lift us up from trouble at the right time, according to His will and timing.
Just knowing that brings so much comfort!
Thus, without further ado, here are 11 encouraging Bible verses about hope in hard times. I hope they’ll nourish your faith and keep you strong against stress and worry. Amen!
Encouraging Bible Verses About Hope in Hard Times
1. Psalm 9:9
When it comes to Bible verses about hope in hard times, Psalm 9:9 is among the most succinct yet powerful.
Written by King David, the psalm in its entirely is about how any ‘victory’ by evildoers is merely fleeting – even if it doesn’t seem that way at first.
However, ultimately, God’s righteousness always wins – in ways He sovereignly chooses.
Whenever we face trouble, we – like David – must learn to be patient with God’s divine timing. Because His wisdom on life’s unfolding is far greater than ours.
In the meantime, the key thing for us to do is to continuously seek the Lord with open hearts. Trust in Him and don’t give up!
In addition, as Jesus commanded, we should also pray blessings for anyone who may be the cause of our current struggle and pain (Matthew 5:44).
Say what?! Yup, I know that’s super hard to do, heh. Especially when you’re still feeling raw. But showing love to those who hurt us is exactly what distinguishes true believers from others (Mark 11:25; Matthew 6:14; Colossians 3:13).
In short, Psalm 9 – in particular, verse 9 – teaches us to always rely on God during times of trouble. He is our everlasting stronghold. Whatever you’re going through in life now, trust in His infinite love for you. Surrender your worries and stress to Him – and have faith He will make things better in the right season.
2. Matthew 6:34 (especially popular for people looking for Bible verses amid life’s struggles)
When life gets tough, it’s easy for us to fall into the trap of constant worry.
We start stressing over the future, weighed down by a huge burden of concerns (e.g. “Will I ever find a new job?”, “How will my relationship work out?”, “Is there even a purpose to my life?”, etc.).
In short, thinking about our future amid hard times is a recipe for non-stop anxiety.
However, when we actually stop to think about it, the reality is only God truly knows what will happen tomorrow. As finite people, mere humans, all we have are ‘best guesses’, nothing more.
This brings us to Matthew 6:34.
Here, Jesus reminds us that we should not worry over what tomorrow brings. Yes, life gets hard, and we will have to go through hardship from time to time. But, ultimately, only our heavenly Father – who we can trust will attend to our truest needs (Matthew 6:31-32) – knows the actual outcome of things to come.
Thus, in light of the above, we must learn to let go of worrying over our future. Unburden our hearts from fear as we turn to the Lord.
Focus on the present instead. For each day in itself has many tasks, roles, and people that require our loving care. These are daily responsibilities that we, as believers, must carry out without being idle (see also Ezra 10:4; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12).
By living each day at a time, we in effect also entrust God with our wider future, staying strong in faith. Of course, along the way, let us keep praying for His guidance, grace, and mercy – which will steer us through more days to come.
These reflections make Matthew 6:34 one of the most encouraging Bible verses for hope in hard times.
3. 1 Peter 5:10
Life is full of joy, happiness… but also suffering.
We all suffer occasionally to varying degrees. Suffering takes many forms. Health issues, scarcity of resources, among many things.
We may also suffer at the hands of those who try to break our hearts – or intentionally make our lives difficult.
However, this verse is such a beautiful, comforting reminder that God is always with us, no matter what the trying circumstance.
For starters, our heavenly Father knows what it feels like to suffer. He is not a distant, faraway God who can’t relate with His creation. Instead, we must remember that His only begotten son Christ himself suffered at the hands of those who hated him, for our sake (Isaiah 53:5; Hebrews 4:15-16; 1 Peter 2:24).
In light of this, when it comes to any hardships we may face, we can trust that God relates and knows how to turn our initial suffering into later miracles and blessings (Genesis 50:20). What we are thus called to do on our parts is to obediently hold onto faith – even when darkness tries to overwhelm.
As 1 Peter 5:10 reminds us, when we face life’s many trials, we should humble ourselves to lean into God more. Over time, we form the consistent habit of praying to Him for strength amid our weaker moments.
This in the end helps to nurture our spiritual perseverance (James 1:2-4). We thus gain steadiness in faith not via vague words or abstract theology – but through our actual experiences and real-life dependence on God.
And, when God’s sovereign will and timing are met, He will fulfill His timeless promise to restore us with renewed strength. Bad times won’t last forever when we stay on His path of true life. Trust in Him!
Feeling stressed? Check out our devotional on anxiety!
4. Proverbs 3:5-6 (a popular quote among encouraging Bible verses)
When hard times hit us, we are often tempted to take matters into our own hands.
For example, if someone else causes us stress or anger, our immediate response may be to lash back at them, or even seek revenge.
Alternatively, when we’re impatient to quickly solve a problem, we start to lean on our own understanding. We may then begin to make rash decisions that potentially work against us in the long run.
Moreover, our impulsive choices rarely work to glorify God. They tend to cause our slow ‘spiritual deaths’ instead (Proverbs 14:12), moving us further away from Bible-centered living.
In this regard, Proverbs 3:5-6 always serves as a good reminder for us to turn away from the pride of our own human ways, regularly seeking God’s greater wisdom instead.
Thus, rather than trying to muscle through difficult moments alone, we should cast our anxieties to Him (1 Peter 5:7), humbly asking for His guidance (1 Peter 5:7) via earnest prayer and petition (Philippians 4:6).
By surrendering to Him on an everyday basis, God will eventually reveal the plans He has for us – in the right way, at the right time (e.g. new opportunities may open, key relationships made, etc.).
In short, He will straighten our paths, showing us a better way through our earthly chaos.
Life is so much more fulfilling when we learn to submit ourselves to His understanding – not live by ours. God is infinitely wise; we are not. So let us have faith and lean into Him in trust!
5. Deuteronomy 31:6
There’ll always be things that try to turn us away from God’s true calling on our lives.
For example, we may know doubting people who – while having good intentions – gasp at our decision to answer His promptings (e.g. “You’re going to be a missionary? That’s insane!”).
Or maybe God asks us to carry out a new task – but we ourselves are starting to feel deeply insecure (e.g. “I’m so new to this, I don’t have the ability. I can’t!”).
Whatever the situation, the point is: it’s very easy for us to lose our nerve in the wake of uncertainty.
However, Deuteronomy 31:6 is a beautiful but firm reminder for all of us to stay strong as we hold onto God’s promise to always be with us. He will not abandon us, even when we stumble in our steps of faith.
While avoiding personal pride, let us not give in to fear, shame, intimidation, or insecurity. Those are not the ways of our loving Father (1 John 4:18; 2 Timothy 1:7) – but of the enemy.
Instead, we should keep praying as we humbly seek God for His grace and direction, making the choice to walk boldly with Him in courage.
Check out our devotional on how to be a friend of God.
Here are a few more encouraging Bible verses to give you renewed hope during difficult times!
6. Isaiah 41:10
In our obedience to Him, God is always faithful. He will give us strength along the way, so that we do not sink into dismay and disarray.
7. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (More great Bible verses to inspire hope!)
God sometimes turns our troubles into blessings for others. Through our personal struggles, we learn compassion and empathy. Thus, we gain the gift of truly relating more deeply with the worries of people around us – by His grace.
8. Psalm 23:4
One of the most quoted Bible verses about hope that stays true, forevermore!
9. John 14:27
May the Prince of Peace be in all our hearts, as we are in his. Let not our hearts be troubled. Amen!
