Bible verses for encouragement
Joshua 1:9 and Isaiah 41:10 are the two most people are handed, and both are worth having. But the passage doing the heaviest lifting here is Romans 8:28 — all things work together for good — which is also the one most often said badly to people having a terrible week. It's set out properly below, because read carefully it is far more useful than the version on the mugs.
12 passages · World English Bible & King James · public domain
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Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”Joshua 1:9 · World English Bible
An order rather than a wish, given to a man taking over from Moses. The courage is commanded and the company is supplied.
King James
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
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We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.Romans 8:28 · World English Bible
Work together — a weaving, not an excuse. Read verse 29 for what the good actually refers to.
King James
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
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Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.Isaiah 41:10 · World English Bible
Four promises, none conditional on how well you're holding up.
King James
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
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Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD.Psalms 27:14 · World English Bible
Wait for the LORD. Be strong... Yes, wait. The repetition is the encouragement; it knows waiting is the hard part.
King James
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.
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Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward person is decaying, yet our inward person is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.2 Corinthians 4:16-18 · World English Bible
The outward person decaying while the inward is renewed day by day. Honest about both halves.
King James
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
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Let’s consider how to provoke one another to love and good works, not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.Hebrews 10:24-25 · World English Bible
Provoke one another to love and good works. Encouragement framed as something you do to other people.
King James
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
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Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do.1 Thessalonians 5:11 · World English Bible
Build each other up, as you also do. A compliment and an instruction in the same sentence.
King James
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
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Let’s not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season if we don’t give up.Galatians 6:9 · World English Bible
In due season — the clause that concedes the reaping hasn't happened yet.
King James
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
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I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.”John 16:33 · World English Bible
Said the night before his arrest. The trouble is stated as fact, not possibility.
King James
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
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Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope in the power of the Holy Spirit.Romans 15:13 · World English Bible
Joy and peace in believing, then abounding hope. The fullest blessing in the letters.
King James
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
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Cast your burden on the LORD and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved.Psalms 55:22 · World English Bible
Cast your burden on the LORD and he will sustain you. Sustain, not remove.
King James
Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
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but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.Isaiah 40:31 · World English Bible
Waiting first, then the strength. The order is the whole encouragement.
King James
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
What Romans 8:28 does and doesn't say
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
It does not say every event is good. It does not say there is a hidden silver lining in the diagnosis, or that the redundancy was secretly a favour. It says things work together toward an end — a weaving, not an excuse. Read on to verse 29 and the good being aimed at is named: being conformed to the image of Christ. That's a specific promise about who you are becoming, not a guarantee about how things turn out.
Which means: if someone has said ‘everything happens for a reason’ to you this week, the verse they were reaching for is kinder and more honest than what they said.
The one for when it's already gone wrong
John 16:33 is remarkably level about it: in the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world. The trouble is stated as a fact, not a possibility. Jesus said this the night before he was arrested, which is worth knowing when you read the cheerful half.
Encouragement is meant to be given, not just received
1 Thessalonians 5:11 and Hebrews 10:24-25 both frame it as a job rather than a feeling — build each other up, provoke one another to love, don't stop meeting together. If you came to this page looking for something to send someone, that's the tradition you're standing in, and it counts.
What this looks like on a phone
Push From God sends one of these when it fits what you've told it about your week — not on a schedule you have to keep up with.
For a week that's asked a lot of you
Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD.
Psalm 27:14
It says wait twice in one verse. Whoever wrote it knew that's the hard part.
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Questions
What is the most encouraging Bible verse?
Joshua 1:9 — be strong and courageous, don't be afraid, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go — and Isaiah 41:10 are the two most often turned to. Romans 8:28 and Romans 15:13 are the fullest.
What does Romans 8:28 actually mean?
It says all things work together for good for those who love God — a weaving of events toward an end, not a claim that every event is itself good. Verse 29 names the good in view: being conformed to the image of Christ. It is a promise about who you are becoming rather than a guarantee about outcomes.
What Bible verse should I send to encourage someone?
Isaiah 41:10 and Joshua 1:9 are gentle and widely known. If they are exhausted rather than frightened, Isaiah 40:31 or Galatians 6:9 fit better. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 is the verse that says sending it at all is the right instinct.