Life can be overwhelming and it’s easy at times to feel like all hope is lost. We have the tendency to try and cope by looking to things or other people to be our comfort instead of looking to God who is the true source of peace.
If you’ve ever been in season where the darkness doesn’t seem to lift or like you’re all alone and no one seems to even notice. You aren’t alone.
When I was in college, I started to come to terms with the different traumas I had experienced growing up. These realizations sent me down a dark path and I began to spiral. I was struggling with depression and thought my life wasn’t worth living.
One day, a friend of mine read Psalm 13 to me. At first I was indifferent, but then something amazing happened. She came back the next day and the next day. And for months, she came to my dorm room and read that Psalm to me. She didn’t say anything else, just read it and left.
During this time, I was attending counseling regularly which helped. But looking back, it was my friend that made the biggest impact in my life. Rather, it was Scripture that made the biggest impact. I didn’t realize it at first, but the Bible was coming to life to me. I began to relate to David, the author, and I felt less alone. God was revealing Himself to me through His Word.
I’m so grateful for my friend and her understanding that Scripture changes things.
When the darkness seems like it’s too much, don’t run away. Instead, purposefully grab ahold of the joy and peace that comes from the Bible. Those words were written for you! God gave us his word intentionally to bring comfort, peace, joy, courage, conviction and all of the things we need to keep going. The Bible exists to point us to Jesus.
For a very long time, Psalm 13 was that for me. What is that verse for you? If you don’t have one, there are some listed below. I encourage you to hold on to a verse or two and don’t let go. Think about them, meditate on them, memorize them and pray them over yourself.
1. Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
2. Deuteronomy 31:8
And the LORD, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
3. Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
4. Psalm 9:9
The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble.
5. Psalm 23:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
6. Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
7. Psalm 30:10-12
Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper!” You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
8. Psalm 31:14-15
But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me.
9. Psalm 31:22-24
For I said in my haste, “I am cut off from before Your eyes”; Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications When I cried out to You. Oh, love the LORD, all you His saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person. Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD.
10. Psalm 32:7
You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
11. Psalm 32:10-11
Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; But he who trusts in the LORD, mercy shall surround him. Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
12. Psalm 33:20
Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
13. Psalm 34:4
I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.
14. Psalm 34:7
The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, And delivers them.
15. Psalm 34:17-19
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
16. Psalm 37:23-25
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.
17. Psalm 38:15
For in You, O LORD, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.
18. Psalm 39:7
“And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
19. Psalm 40:1-2
I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
20. Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
21. Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
22. Psalm 56:3
Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.
23. Psalm 91:1-16
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
24. Psalm 94:19
In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.
25. Psalm 118:6
The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
26. Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
27. Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad.
28. Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.
29. Isaiah 26:3
You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
30. Isaiah 35:4
Say to those who are fearful-hearted, “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you.”
31. Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait on 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.
32. Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
33. Isaiah 41:13
For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’
34. Isaiah 43:1
But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.
35. Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
36. Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
37. Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
38. Matthew 11:28-30
Come to Me, all you 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.”
39. Mark 5:36
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
40. John 14:1
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
41. 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 heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
42. John 16:33
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
43. Romans 8:38-39
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
44. Colossians 3:15
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
45. Philippians 4:6-9
Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
46. Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
47. 1 Peter 5:6-8
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
48. 2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
49. 1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
50. Revelation 1:17
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
We live in a broken world, filled with damaged people and systems. But, no matter what you face, remember that you are not alone. When you feel forgotten, God is with you. When you are suffering, God is near to you. When you need healing, God mends what is broken in you. When you feel like darkness is all around, God lights your path forward. God is your comfort and sustainer.
If you or someone you know is struggling, we would love the opportunity to pray with you. Leave a request on the Way Nation Prayer Wall and be encouraged that people are praying for your specific need!
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That’s why the Bible was written……for our encouragement.
Can we get these sent to our email, one a day everyday?
Hi Melissa, you can sign up for our daily Word on the Way here: https://www.wayfm.com/wotw/
Appreciate the printable and clear format , good selection of verses for times of waiting upon Gods provision and comfort. Thank You