What are some encouraging
Bible verses that can encourage you? What are your favorites? Add a
comment below with one of yours.
Here are 10 of my most encouraging Bible verses
about God’s Promises
Encouragement
You likely have your own
favorite Bible verses and these may naturally differ from mine and for
different reasons. We all need the encouragement of our family, our
friends, or our co-workers but encouragement from God is always sincere,
without hypocrisy, and always genuine.
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or
terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never
leave you nor forsake you.”
In a world where family
betrays family member, spouses cheat on one another and people it is
encouraging to know that God never leaves us or forsakes us. We sometimes
forsake God but He never every does us and His love never fails and He never
gives up on us. We do…He doesn’t. That’s strong encouragement.
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and
whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”
This promise sounds very reassuring to me because Jesus will
never, ever cast or turn anyone away that comes to Him. This “whoever”
means that anyone can come to Him and also tells us that God is no respecter of
persons. When people come to Jesus for eternal life, He turns no one
away…regardless of social status.
Romans 8: 38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life,
neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
I need to be persuaded at
times by the Holy Spirit and by Scripture that we cannot be separated from God
by any created thing and that includes my own doubt. When a person is
saved and even for a longtime Christian, doubt can creep in and make them and
me have doubts about my salvation. This is the work of the enemy for God
gives us peace through Jesus’ death (Rom 5:1) and I need to trust God
for what He has said.
First John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
God is always faithful and
I am not but when I sin, and it’s only a matter of time when I do, I must claim
the promise that God forgives us when we confess our sins. He not only
forgives us but also purifies “us from all unrighteousness.” Then I must
learn to forgive myself and sometimes my standard of forgiving myself is higher
than God’s is. If my children ask me to forgiven them, why wouldn’t
I? I know God is even more forgiving than I am since He is
faithful. That is so encouraging to know that no matter how many times I
sin, He will always forgive me if I confess it to Him. To sin is to
literally “miss the mark” but Jesus’ own death enables us to hit the bulls eye
for absolution (2 Cor 5:21).
Second Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin
for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
If we do ask for
forgiveness (1 John 1:9) then I know that I can be forgiven but more
importantly, when we repent and trust in Christ, He declares us to be
righteous. We are declared righteous in His sight because Jesus became
sin for us so that we “might become the righteousness of God.” It’s not a
matter of if I sin but when and if I say I don’t have sin, then I make God out
to be a liar (1 John 1:10) which of course He is not…but I am. May I
repent every time I do sin and confess it to Him because when we are born again
(John 3:3) we are new creatures in Christ and God sees us as He does His own
son!
Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the
good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
No matter what is presently
going on or will happen in the future, we can know that all things will work
out for our best. It is not saying that all things will be good but even
bad things can work out for our ultimate best. He will not keep us from
going through storms or take us out of the storms but promises us to be with us
in the storms. This verse applies only for those who are Christ’s because
the opposite is true for non-believers…all things will not work out for their
best because they have not been “called according to His purpose.” If we
are called, we will be called to go through some painful experiences but even
these are “according to his purpose.”
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Imagine someone dying for
you while you were their enemy. God’s love is no better demonstrated than
on the cross because He died for believers before they were saved. To die
for someone who is your enemy is the most powerful demonstration of
unconditional love that there is. When still enemies of God and sinning
before Him, Jesus Christ died and this death of His on our behalf, reconciled
us to God and we are made to be His children.
First Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares
for you.”
We often try to carry our
burdens alone and this weight is too heavy for us so Peter is telling us to
cast all anxieties…that is every one of them…onto the broad shoulders of Jesus
Christ. Why? Because He cares for us. He cares enough to
carry what we cannot carry on our own. If someone wants to help us carry
something, why don’t we? Especially if it is He Who is the God of the
universe. What is too heavy for Him to bear? The answer is
nothing. It is like a sorrow shared is halved but a joy shared is
doubled. When I cast my cares upon Him, that means that I don’t have
possession of them anymore.
Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be
dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will
uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
The anxiety I just
mentioned can sometimes lead to fear it is isn’t disposed of so God tells us
that we need not fear because God is our God and He Himself will strengthen
us. Not only that, God will uphold us (hold us up) in His righteous right
hand. It is His right hand meaning that is His primary hand and most
people being right handed means that this is the strongest sense of His
strength, being in His right hand. No dismay is necessary, no fear need
encumber us. He is there to strengthen us and hold us up. If God is
holding us up, there should be no need to fear, right?
John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the
life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and
whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Jesus is the giver of
eternal life. If a person believes in Him, when they die, they can die
with the assurance of living again with Him. It is not so much if we die,
for all will (1 Cor 5:22), but when we die in Christ, we will be resurrected
again to eternal life. The older I get, the more this promise has richer
meaning.
Conclusion
Jesus reassures everyone
who comes to Him in faith to “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” (Matt 11:29-30). If we review all
of these Bible verses on encouragement, consider all that they tell us.
We can be strong and courageous because He will never leave because He will not
forsake us; whoever comes to Him He will n not cast or turn away; there is
nothing that can separate us from God’s love; He forgives us of every sin we
confess; we are declared righteous in Christ; everything will work out for our
best whether good or bad; He died for us while we were still His enemy and His
love was demonstrated on the cross; and we can cast every fear and anxiety away
because we have believed on Him and even when we die, we know that we will live
again. Jesus asks, “Do you believe this?” My prayer is that you do.
Now, post your own encouraging Bible verse and tell us why it is encouraging to
you.
Source:
by Jack Wellman
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