Hard times happen. They often hit with hurricane force. A phone call, an email, or a conversation shatters our dreams, breaks our hearts, and flips our future upside down. Other times they blow in and hover. Winds howl and waves thrash for what feels like an eternity. Time passes, and the prospect of ever seeing calm restored begins to fade.
How can we find and maintain hope in the midst of a crisis? By filling our minds with God’s promises and meditating on them. Here are 31 Bible verses (ESV) to help center our thoughts on truth.
Psalm 29:11 – “May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!”
Isaiah 9:6 – “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
John 16:33 – “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Romans 15:13 – “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Psalm 147:11 – “But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.”
Jeremiah 29:11 – “ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
1 Peter 5:10 – “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
Psalm 3:3-6 – “But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord,and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah. I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.”
Isaiah 43:1-2 – “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
Hebrews 10:23 – “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
Psalm 18:6a, 16-17 – “In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help…He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.”
Philippians 1:6 – “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
1 Corinthians 15:54-58 –” When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written,
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
Psalm 33:18-19 – “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.”
Psalm 33:22 – “Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”
Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Isaiah 40:28-31 – “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Philippians 4:6-7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Psalm 139:7-10 – “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”
Isaiah 26:3 – “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
Isaiah 26:12 – “O Lord, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works.”
Isaiah 54:10 – “’For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
Isaiah 55:12 – “For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”
John 14:27 – “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
2 Thessalonians 3:16 – “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.”
1 Peter 1:3-6 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.”
Psalm 130:5 – “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.”
Romans 8:28-29 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
Grace Fox – Author of Finding Hope in Crisis: Devotions for Calm in Chaos (Aspire Press/Rose Publishing 2021) Available for pre-orders January 2021.
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