Verse collection
Bible verses for encouragement
Fourteen verses for when you are tired, discouraged, or tempted to give up, shortest first. Several were written by people who were tired themselves.
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Encouragement in the Bible is not cheering up. It is closer to putting heart back into someone, and the verses below do it in a few different ways: a promise that God upholds the fallen, a reason not to lose heart, a reminder that the Scriptures themselves were written so that we might have hope. A few are for giving to someone else; Hebrews 10:24-25 calls encouragement a job. Every verse below is quoted from the Berean Standard Bible with a line of context. For days that are more sorrow than weariness, see Bible verses for comfort; for a longer season, Bible verses about hope. Pick a short one and learn it in about five days.
He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak.
From the chapter that opens with comfort, comfort My people. The power goes to the faint, which is to say the people who have run out.
The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
David's psalm of praise, written as an alphabet acrostic so it could be learned. This is the line for the day you are down: upholds and lifts up are both present tense.
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
Written in the ruins of Jerusalem, traditionally by Jeremiah. The encouragement is not that things are fine but that the LORD is good to those who keep waiting on Him.
Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.
Jesus at the last supper, hours before His arrest, encouraging the men who should have been encouraging Him. The remedy for a troubled heart is stated as belief.
Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
David in a psalm full of enemies, refusing to move his hope to the afterlife. The goodness of the LORD is expected here, in the land of the living.
Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
The writer of Hebrews prescribes one remedy for weariness: consider Jesus, who endured worse. Looking at Him is the encouragement, not looking at yourself.
Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Paul to churches tempted to quit doing good. The harvest is promised on two conditions, one of timing, in due time, and one of persistence, if we do not give up.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.
Paul, older and worn, writing honestly about a body that is wasting away. The encouragement is that renewal is happening at the same time, and daily.
For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.
Paul's explanation of why the Scriptures were written: for endurance and encouragement. A verse to memorize about why memorizing verses helps.
The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey. Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.
David, who says two verses later that he was young and now is old, in a psalm about patience. Falling is expected here; being overwhelmed is not, because a hand is holding yours.
The LORD your God is among you; He is mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with singing.
The end of a prophet's book of judgment, and it turns to singing. God rejoicing over His people is a picture few expect, and it is meant to be believed.
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.
Peter to scattered believers facing persecution. He does not deny the suffering; he puts a time limit on it and lists four things God Himself will do afterward.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who by grace has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed.
Paul's prayer for a young church under pressure. It asks God to encourage hearts and strengthen hands, which is the whole of encouragement in one sentence.
And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
The one place the New Testament says plainly why to keep showing up. Encouragement is given as a job, and meeting together is how it gets done.
Word counts use this site's counting rule in the Berean Standard Bible. Each reference links to the verse in its chapter, because a verse understood in context lands better than a verse alone. Where a verse is quoted on its own, a trailing comma or a quotation mark left unbalanced is dropped (John 14:1, Zephaniah 3:17).
Encouragement you can give
A verse for encouragement works twice: once when you learn it and once when you hand it to someone who needs it. The five-step method takes a few minutes a day: hear the verse aloud, say it while more and more words hide themselves, and finish by reciting it from just the reference. Start with Isaiah 40:29 or Psalm 145:14; either is yours within the week, and both fit in a text message.
Questions
What is a good Bible verse to encourage someone?
For a short one, Isaiah 40:29 (He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak) or Psalm 145:14 (The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down). For someone who is tired of doing the right thing, Galatians 6:9: let us not grow weary in well-doing. For someone coming out of a hard stretch, 1 Peter 5:10 promises that God Himself will restore, secure, strengthen and establish them.
What does the Bible say about encouraging one another?
Hebrews 10:24-25 makes encouragement a shared responsibility: consider how to spur one another on, do not neglect meeting together, and encourage one another all the more. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says the same in a line: encourage and build one another up. Romans 15:4 adds that the Scriptures were written for our encouragement, which is why a verse is often the best thing to send.
What Bible verse helps when you feel like giving up?
Galatians 6:9 is written for exactly that feeling: in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 2 Corinthians 4:16 gives the reason not to lose heart, that the inner self is being renewed day by day even while the outer one wears out, and Hebrews 12:3 says to consider Jesus, who endured worse, so that you will not grow weary. Psalm 37:24 promises that though a person falls, they will not be overwhelmed, because the LORD is holding their hand.
Half remember a different verse?
The words don't need to match exactly, just type what you remember.