While struggles look different for every person, knowing Jesus and knowing Bible verses about patience in hard times can help us face anything the world may throw at us.
In the past few years, my family has endured just a few hardships:
- Just about every possible thing in our house has broken (air conditioning, washer/dryer, water leak, just to name a few),
- My husband lost his job of 16 years
- And my daughter’s struggles with anxiety and OCD have escalated.
Yet I know those things may be nothing compared to others. We can face tomorrow because He lives.
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What God Teaches About Patience
The Bible gives us countless stories and Bible verses about patience in hard times.
If we feel like we’re alone, we only have to read the Bible to find a book full of imperfect people with struggles. Some of them handled it well, others not so much.
Regardless, we can learn much from the stories God has given us.
Furthermore, God promises he will not abandon us. We know that God can use whatever our struggles are for His glory. What the world means for evil, God can turn into good.
Hard times are coming.
It’s not a matter of if we need faith and patience, but when we will need faith and patience.
Related Post: 10 Bible Verses for When You Want to Give Up (Free Printable)
Faith and patience often collide. We have to have faith in order to have sustained patience during hard times and any times for that matter.
So let’s equip ourselves now so we can be ready against the hard times we know are coming.
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:13 (NIV)
13 Bible Verses About Patience in Hard Times
So, what does the Bible say about patience in hard times? The Bible gives us hope, power, and self-control.
When we follow Jesus, we have the peace that passes understanding. (Philippians 4:7)
The following 13 Bible verses will keep peace and joy close to our hearts:
Bible verses about hope in hard times
- James 1: 2-3 (NIV)- Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
- 2 Corinthians 4: 17 (NLT)- For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
- 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NLT)- So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
- Psalm 31:7 (NLT)- I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul.
- Psalm 34:19 (NLT)- The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
- John 16: 33 (NIV)- “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
The power of patience in the Bible
- Colossians 1:11 (NLT)- We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy.
- Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)- For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
- Psalm 138: 7 (NLT)- Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will protect me from the anger of my enemies. You reach out your hand, and the power of your right hand saves me.
Bible verses about patience and self-control
- 2 Corinthians 1: 4-5 (NLT)- He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NLT)- We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
- 2 Corinthians 6:4 (NLT)- In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind.
- 2 Corinthians 12:10 (NLT)- That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Stories of Patience in the Bible
When I think of stories about patience in the Bible, I think of two major storylines.
- The first one shows God’s patience
- And the second gives us a great example of patience through hard times.
1. God’s patience
God’s patience is continually shown over and over. Im reminded of the song, This is the Song that Never Ends, when I read about the Israelites in the Old Testament (Exodus):
God rescued them from slavery out of Egypt with great miraculous signs, and yet not long after they left Egypt, they whined and wished they were back in Egypt. (Exodus 16)
They rebelled against God time and time again. And God still showed them unfathomable love and mercy and patience. How amazing is it to know how loving and merciful our God is?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)
God has given us great mercy, for we all deserve death.
And yet that doesn’t mean we go on sinning because we know God is merciful, but rather we humble ourselves every time we screw up time and time again.
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!
Romans 6:15 (NIV)
2. Joseph’s example of patience during hard times: (Genesis 37 – 50)
Joseph’s youth started off as a picture of perfection and favoritism, but the arrogance of his youth withered away through the hard times he soon endured:
- His brothers attempted to murder him and then sold him into slavery,
- He was wrongly accused of adultery and then thrown into jail
- He was forgotten in jail.
- His own family didn’t recognize him.
- And he was abruptly separated from a father who loved him.
He must have thought God abandoned him at times, and yet he clung to God’s promises, and that ultimately saw him through his times of trouble.
Does God Reward Patience?
We may not see an earthly reward for our patience and faith. Not every story is redeemed on this side of heaven. And not every prayer is answered the way we think it ought to be.
God is simply asking us to be obedient to him in our faith.
Just like as parents often know the bigger picture, and that is why we ask for obedience at times, God desires our obedience because He loves us and knows the bigger picture.
He knows what’s best for us and it is far greater than we can ever imagine. God may reward our patience in a worldly sense as well, but our ultimate reward is the joy and peace we have when we put our trust and faith in Jesus.
Knowing he is the author and perfector of our faith.
There are and have been times when I didn’t know the future and I wasn’t sure where money or help was going to come from.
But the thing is, help always comes to those who need it. God promises us he will provide.
And if I know anything about God’s character, I know he is a promise keeper.
It may not always be in the way we expect or think, but God is with us all along.
My faith in God and my relationship with my husband have been strengthened as we work together in our struggles.
I don’t know what your struggles look like, but I do know you’re not alone.
I can’t even promise when you will get answers or help, but I know who does.
And that, my friends, makes all the difference.
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Meet the Author:
Brynn is the founder of Unfading Beauty and Strength, where she strives to live out her ordinary life serving God, whether doing laundry, enjoying a good cup of coffee, or surviving parenthood. Brynn’s website serves to encourage Christian women in their daily walk with God through practical tips, encouraging devotionals, and learning from other amazing women’s stories.