By Apostle Quinson Thomas. Updated on January 14, 2023.
And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.
If you're going though a hard time, may these be a great blessing to you.
It is our prayer that these Scriptures for strength in hard times below will be an inspiration to you and help you to rely on God's strength in every season of your life.
Sometimes what helps is simply to get one bible verse and then focus in on that verse until God speaks to you. We now also have prayers for strength available here.
Because it's when He speaks to you that victory will come into your life. It's then that God's strength is made available to you. His voice is like HIs righteous right hand being outstretched to you. So enjoy the following strength bible verses as you trust God for your strength and victory in Jesus' Mighty Name. May these strengthening verses in the bible give you hope and power to serve the Lord in victory and gladness in Jesus' Name.
Now that I've shared some of my favorite bible verses, I want to teach you some powerful truths by the power of the Holy Ghost.
It is our prayer that as you read this that your spiritual strength will increase in Jesus' Name.
It doesn't matter who you are, there are going to come times in your life when you feel weak and in need of encouragement. Jesus felt this way when He was in the garden of Gethsemane contemplating what He would have to do . He was asking the Father to let this cup pass from Him, but if it be the Father's will to let His will be done! And we know The Father's will was done! Thank you Jesus.
But, there is a line of scripture that we very rarely hear discussed and it reads:
"And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him." Luke 22:43
We all are in need of strength and encouragement. And there is no better place to go than to God; finding strength and courage in His Word in the Bible.
And so what we have here are some amazing, faith-building bible verses for strength in difficult times and bible verses for encouragement that will surely help you in your walk with the Lord.
When you're finished 'eating' these scriptures be sure to continue scrolling because I have a powerful article for you. By the grace of God I'll share with you how to live a powerful and encouraged life in the face of hardship and difficulties since we all have to go through them as Psalm 34:19 says: many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all.
Here are some more. Enjoy the following bible verses and then be sure to keep scrolling for powerful article to encourage and strengthen you in your walk with the Lord.
"Some of the most destructive things in this life are feelings. The only way to sort feelings out is by the Word of God."
Too often what holds us back are false thoughts and beliefs that the devil has tried to keep us victim to in order to steal, kill and destroy God’s plan and purpose for our lives in Christ. But I’ve got great news. Jesus came that you may have life and life more abundantly.
So for this Breakthrough Principle, let’s take a look at how destructive false beliefs can be to fulfilling the call that God has on your life. Then we’ll be looking at some common false beliefs that limit growth in the Lord so we can replace them with the Word of God.
To jumpstart our look at this Breakthrough Principle, let’s look at the life of Moses.
• 1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’(Exodus 4:1)”
Have you ever taken the time out to sit down and wonder whether or not people would believe you when you tell them that God sent you to preach His Word, or sing, or heal the sick, or write a book?
Well, if you’re like I was, and how many people are, you think about this often. Maybe you think about how many people will believe you all the time. Do you get the feeling that they’ll just think that you’re joking, or you’re not good enough for God to send you?
Moses got similar thoughts. He didn’t think that people would believe him or pay him any attention. Moses probably thought that people would dismiss him as outright crazy. But before you think that Moses’ thoughts had no backing, I want you to think about what actually took place when Moses went out and did what God had called Him to do.
Many thought he was crazy. Many wanted to completely dismiss him. And others didn’t care or respect him.
But as with Moses, God will never you leave nor forsake you. God doesn’t want you to keep things on hold. The Holy Spirit is here to comfort you and to empower you to burst through the barriers of limitations that you and others have put on you and show forth the praises of God who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. As you’ll soon see, God will not leave you powerless!
Back to Moses- Exodus 4:1-5
1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
2 So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?”
He said, “A rod.”
3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”
Glory to God! In the earlier part of the passage, we see Moses trying to get all the sureties out of the way. But, look at what the Lord said to him- What is in your hand? God didn’t look at things the way Moses did.
Moses was looking at what he didn’t have. God looked at what He had given to Moses, and what He could do with what Moses had been given.
We see the Lord telling Moses to cast the rod to the ground. When Moses cast it to the ground, it became a serpent. We see two things here:
This is the time when many pack up and say, this is crazy! But, God wants you to know that you will never go there alone, you’ve got Him to back you up. So Yes, Moses had to swallow his pride so to speak and cast a lowly, old, tired rod to the ground. No power in the rod. By the sights of things, things don’t look too promising, but adding the power of God by His Spoken word, the harmless rod, becomes a serpent.
Praise the Lord Jesus Christ! Thinking back on all the things that The Lord has brought me through, my spirit leaps with joy and expectancy in writing this for it is when we’re weak that we’re made strong. For without Him we can do nothing. But with Jesus, in Jesus, and through Jesus Christ we can do all things for He strengthens us!
Moses had to throw the rod on the ground. That’s the foolish thing. You starting that business that the Lord had been talking to you about in a world-wide recession- that’s the foolish thing. You laying hands on the sick for them to recover is the ‘foolish’ thing.
You- shouting out the name of Jesus in a busy market-square- that’s the foolish thing. You believing that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you – the world sees this as foolish. But we know different!
Moses threw down the rod, and it became a serpent. When you trust in the Lord and throw down your rod, it will become like that serpent, able to strike fear in the heart of the enemy- the devil- and witness to the fact that the Lord is with you.
So instead of worrying about whether or not people will receive you or believe you, focus your eyes on Jesus knowing that He will never leave you or forsake you; knowing that He will empower you to go forth and shine your light for people to see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
I’m reminded by the Lord of a powerful verse of scripture. I’ll leave you to meditate on these words as we continue on our look at this principle. Here it is:
“20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. (1Corinthians 4:20)
Ready?
• If I do what God asked me to do, then those around me will forsake me.
NOT TRUE- The Lord may move upon their hearts, or they may fall away, but always think “but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
And it may very well start with you stepping out and shining your light for men to see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. You may not be a pulpit preacher but with the vision that God has given to you for your life you can be sure of this- you'll be a making a significant and lasting impact on the lives of others to the honor and glory of the King of kings.
• If people don’t like everything that I do, then I’m failing God.
NOT TRUE- Serve God, and He’ll take care of the rest. He who wants to be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven must be the servant of all. Very often as you serve, the darkness will put up a fight, but it has no match for the Light, for the Light will always overcome darkness. Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. Read what our Lord Jesus says.
18"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'[b] If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason. (John15:18-25)
If I fail, then I fail altogether.
NOT TRUE- God has the final say. You know it’s not easy trying to do everything in your own power- actually you can do NOTHING in your own power. But as you let Jesus take over, and let Him be the captain of your ship, let Him calm the stormy seas, let Him be LORD and KING of your life, then the difficulty will subside. You may fall down, but He’ll pick you back up again. Jesus is there to comfort you and to empower you to do the impossible. Even what may seem as a failure in man’s eyes, God may look at it as a stepping block for a future move. Remember, He makes all things work together for the good of them who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Also remember Philippians 4:13. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
What people say determines how good I’ve done in ministry
NOT TRUE- It’s what God says. Can darkness dictate what light is supposed to be? Of course not! But can LIGHT, dictate what light is supposed to be? Of course! In the same way it is God, our Father, who is the Father of lights(1James17-18),should be the One that you aim to please. And you do this by exercising the Faith that He has given you in the Love that He has shed abroad in your heart by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Why would you doubt God when He speaks to you? You know it’s His voice because it’s the same voice that called you to Him.
At times, we are faced with difficult situations, situations that seem to want to arrest our whole attention. But we must know that we have not been called to bondage to the things of this world, for where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty(2Corinthinas 3:17). The Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit is within you, making sure that you walk in the peace and liberty that Jesus died and rose to give you. He does this by speaking to you, declaring what belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ to you, guiding you into all truth. And it is in these times that the storms of life arise that God says, “Peace be still. I am with you.” That’s all we need to know. The Lord is with us. Come hail or high water, sun or rain, the Lord is with us! AND He’ll never ever leave us or forsake us.
Why doubt the Lord when going through trials when the going gets tough? The same way you have received Him- by grace through faith, is the same way that you receive Him to take control of your life’s situations and bring you out safely on the other side.
Did we have to prove ourselves worthy before God in order to receive salvation? No! We simply had to receive the gift that the Lord had called us to.
We don’t have to work, and strive and get ourselves all worked up to receive from God, all we’ve got to do is exactly what He has called us to do- nothing more and nothing less.
This is not to say that you don't work, but God works in and through you by His grace.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me (1 Corinthians 15:10)
That’s why Our Lord Jesus Christ says, seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
It’s because as we seek the righteousness, and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit, in whose presence there’s liberty (2Corinthians3:17), we’ll have the deep assurance and hope that the Lord has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”(2 Peter 1:3)
When we receive of God by grace through faith, we eliminate the need to strive for things that He has not called us to, and we come to know what the psalmist David knew when inspired by the Holy Spirit said,
25 I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.(Psalm 37:25)
You can watch this 3 hour video with these Scriptures for Spiritual Strength here.
"God doesn’t reward lazy."
And the Lord replies and says, “Seek first My Kingdom and my righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you as well.”
And you say, “Let’s try something else.”
The Problem In The Church Today
The problem in the Church today is not that people don’t have enough faith for things. The problem for many people is that their faith is dead. This is because they’re not willing to work for the things that they have faith for.
Ask any successful Christian. It doesn’t matter what they do. It doesn’t matter if they’re a business coach, apostle, healing evangelist, public speaker or janitor. They’ll all tell you this- Faith without works is dead.
Even miracles have to be worked. Yes, God gives you the power to do it, but you’ve got to apply the power to the place that God has called you to apply it through labor as His Holy Spirit leads you, i.e., through work, in order to receive the result. No one pays attention to the healing evangelist when he has to get the conference hall booked, and the pressure that goes along with that.
No one sees him as he has to work and earn a living to afford the things that he needs. And no one sees the hours of prayer and acting in faith that he has to do every night, before, during, and after the healing conference or crusade. No one sees the struggle.
But we look on the television, and we see the healing evangelist and we say, that looks good. I would love to have a ministry like that.” You can. Ask for it and it shall be yours in Jesus’ Name. But are you willing to put your hand to the plow and never look back? Are you willing to face the demonic spirits that will try to shut down your work in the Lord when you go out on stage every night? Are you willing to work to earn the money that is needed?
“Sure brother, I hear you. But people give donations to the work of the Lord.”
Oh, yes they do. And I’m not discounting that. But you have to do work if you’re going to add something to advance the Kingdom of God in all the earth. If you’re not willing to do the work, what will others add money to? If you’re not giving of that which God has given to you in the way that He tells you, then how can the Lord add to your slothfulness and laziness?
If you’re not doing the work that God has called you to do, then you’re not seeking first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and the other things that will help you to fulfill your call won’t be added unto you because you’ve not been doing what God has called you to do. And until you do, the promises that He has given to you will not be apparent in your life to the benefit of others.
For it is only when you shine your light before men that they’ll be able to see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. The Church today is full of a lot of slothful thinking that sounds right, but it is far from what God has said in His Word.
There are those who say that if God wants it to happen, it will. And the answer is yes. It will. He’s sovereign, but He will move upon the hearts of men to do so. The talent was taken from the slothful, lazy man, and given to the one who had 10 talents- the one who sought first the Kingdom of his Lord and to be in right standing with Him (Matthew 25:14-30) .
7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:7-9)
You have a part to play. You have to start plowing the fields in prayer. You have to start getting things rolling.
If you look at all the miracles and healings that Jesus did, you will notice that none of them were done for people who didn’t add works to their faith or add works to their faith on behalf of someone else.
You see, God didn’t give you His Holy Spirit, for nothing.
The problem is: too many in the Church are living as if it's not going to take work, sweat, and possibly some tears to get there. But, nothing could be further from the truth!
It’s going to take work on your part.
For scripture declares: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).
Jesus says in Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
This means that if you seek His Kingdom, if you seek to be in righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit(Romans 14:17) and with that you seek to be in right relationship with Him, doing as He says, and being led by Him, then the "all these things" will be added to you.
This means that you don't start and then stop. It means that you should seek, and not just look. It means that you get involved with Him and what He has going for your life. And the good news is that if you do this, He'll get involved in your life in turn.
Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you (James 4:8).
So if you see a brother or sister getting along well, don't just bless them, join them in their hard work, because it is hard and diligent work, led by the Holy Spirit that will bring you to that place that God has been showing you all the time.
By strengthening the arms of another in their life and work as unto the Lord, God himself will strengthen you arms as well. This can be emotional strengthening, physical strengthening, spiritual strengthening or even psychological and social strengthening.
The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself (Proverbs 11:25).
Do you need encouragement? Then give encouragement. And you will also get encouragement.
Do you need strength? Then give strength, and you will also get strength!
There are times when you need to rest. But that rest is so you can get up and do the work of God again. Feeling down, then lift somebody else up.
2 Corinthians 8:9 : For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
Let this grace be in you as well, and watch what God does for you and through you!
For we know how the book ends with The Lord Jesus as the Bible shares in Revelation 5: 11-13:
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and [a]ever!”
God is still on His throne and He will strengthen you as you do what He has called you to do, lifting up the name of Jesus to a dying world.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly (Psalms 84:11).
But, you must be doing or walking out what He has called you to do. And when you do.. look out because no good thing (like strength and encouragement) will He withhold from you who walk uprightly!
Hope you enjoyed our strengthening bible verses. Here's the thing though. We don't want to leave you without giving you some more goodies to help you on your quest to receive power from God.
So, here are some more links on getting power from God's Word:
Hope you enjoyed the powerful Scriptures from God's Word for strength in difficult times. It is our prayer that these encouraging bible verses from the Old Testament and New Testament will be a source of strength to you in your time of need. Remember, all that you need really is to get a daily bible verse from one of those we provided here, meditate on it and keep it in your heart until you feel stirred in your faith on the inside. That's God's strength working in you. Then, keep your mind on Him. And he will strengthen your heart.
Our uplifting verses will be here for you to read whenever you need to read something uplifting, but most importantly Your Heavenly Father is with you always, never to leave you or forsake you. Be blessed in the Mighty Name of Jesus!
ALIVE CHRISTIANS
Copyright © 2023 Alive Christians. All Rights Reserved
1441 Woodmont Ln NW #977
Atlanta, GA 30318
Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday 9am EST- 5pm EST
Contact:
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube | Linkedin
Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | About Us| Contact Us
Text PROPHECY to +1 (844) 547-0733
Apostle Thomas has served 14 years in ministry
