Bible verses for when you feel despondent, afraid, anxious, bereft of wisdom, become aware of a pattern of sin, or feel needy for any reason whatsoever.

In order to benefit from this post, you will need to use your Bible. If any of the questions representing areas of need resonate with you, meditate on the related verses. Better yet, memorize those verses. Trust me….I’m not making the list that follows just to meet a blog deadline. These needs regularly weigh me down, and the biblical texts that I list sustain me, instilling resiliency by giving me a necessary perspective. Put simply, being in the Word increases my faith for what I’m facing. As Romans 10:17 says, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

There is no significance to the sequence of this material.

*Are you in a situation where you need to remember that God is in control?  Psalm 103:19

*Are you overwhelmed by a heavy burden or load?  Psalm 55:22, 68:19; Matthew 11:28-30

*Are you struggling with anger or resentment?  Ephesians 4:31-32; Hebrews 12:15

*Are sins of the tongue a pattern for you? Ephesians 4:29; James 3:1-12; Proverbs 10:19; Psalm 39:1

*Are you depressed, living in darkness? Psalm 42:5; Psalm 77, 88; Micah 7:8

*Does it seem like your tears will never stop?  Revelation 21:4; Psalm 30:5, 56:8, 126:5-6

*Are you discouraged about aging, about the difficulties associated with getting old? Do you wonder how to best use your latter years?  Psalm 71:17-18

*Are you afraid of someone or some circumstance? Psalm 56:3-4

*Does life seem unfair?  Psalm 73

*Do you feel a strong need for wisdom or guidance? Proverbs 2:1-7, 3:5-7;  Psalm 90:12; James 1:5; Jeremiah 33:3

*Do you tend to trust yourself too much? Are you too self-reliant? Jeremiah 17:5-9; Proverbs 28:26a

*Are you too physically and emotionally drained to keep going? Isaiah 40:27-31

*Do you need more confidence for your personal evangelism or Bible teaching? Jeremiah 23:29;  Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 16:14; Hebrews 4:12

*Are you getting discouraged over the pain and limitations of your physical body?   1 Corinthians 15:42-55

*Do you want to give up because your prayers have gone unanswered? Luke 11:5-13, 18:1-8; John 16:24

*Are you concerned about material needs or provision? Matthew 6:19-34; Philippians 4:19

*Do you need good reasons to avoid sexual sin? Proverbs 4 :23, 5:1-23, 6:20-33, 7:6-27; Galatians 6:7-8

*Are you discouraged because it seems your ministry is not bearing fruit? 1 Corinthians 3:1-9, 15:58; Galatians 6:7-9

*Are you in trouble and don’t know what to do? Psalm 50:15

*Are you facing an uncertain future? Are you waiting on the Lord? Psalm 37, 62:1-8

*Are you enticed by visual images that open the door to temptation? Psalm 101:2-3

*Are temptations so strong that yielding to sin seems inevitable? 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Thessalonians 3:3; James 4:6-7

*Do you need assurance that God loves you?  Zephaniah 3:17; John 3:16; Isaiah 30:18

*Do you need reassurance that heaven is real and not a fantasy? John 14:1-3

*Do you feel inferior, insignificant, worthless? Psalm 139:13-18; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

*Are you too busy “serving the Lord” to sit quietly at His feet? Luke 10:38-42; Psalm 14:2

*In light of your problems and difficulties, do you need a bigger view of God? Nahum 1:7; Jeremiah 32:17, 27

*Do you need sound reasons to have hope? Lamentations 3:22-25

*Do you need reasons not to lose heart in following or serving Christ? 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

*Do you worry a lot? Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Peter 5:6-7

 

I could extend the list, but these are ones that come to mind as I write today. Which need, represented by a question, best describes your state today? Will you consult the related verse(s) and ask God’s Spirit to speak a personal word to you?

If you keep feeling like a snake’s belly in a wagon rut, then you will discover that a rut is a grave with the ends chopped off.

May our Lod bless your time with Him in His Word.

A special note to persons with depression:  I’m not suggesting that if you examine and memorize Bible verses that “poof,” your depression will disappear. There are a few Christian authors who advocate that God does, indeed, want to heal every person of depression. Our part, they say, in addition to prayer, is to delve into His Word and appropriate its teachings, especially in relation to our identity in Christ.

But I’m not convinced. I cannot promise He’ll totally heal you of depression any more than I can promise that He’ll heal you of chronic illness or disability. He is more than capable of doing so. Yet in some cases, perhaps He gets more glory by redeeming a person’s pain, and using weak, dependent people, than by relieving them of their physical or emotional nemesis. The issue is, “What will give God more glory?”

My perspective does not minimize the value of Scripture in battling depression. God’s Word is my primary weapon. When depression descends on me, no matter what causes it, there is still a spiritual battle to fight. It is a battle of belief. Will I believe the negative, false teachings of my warped “self-talk,” or will I believe the perspectives in God’s Word? Clinging to His Word when I’m depressed keeps me close to Him, and probably shortens the stay of depressive episodes. By consulting these Bible verses, I get a better view of who He is, what He has done in the past, and what He has promised to do in the future. His Word may not prevent depressive episodes, but it definitely instills hope, sustains me, and enables me to keep serving Him.