Bible Verses for When You Feel Like Giving Up

If you live long enough, there will be at least one point in your life when you feel like giving up.  Whether it will be giving up on your marriage, ministry, job, education, dream, friendship, or even giving up on yourself, we will all need encouragement at some point in our life.  Thankfully, God remains faithful to us even when we are faithless.  There are many examples in the Bible of God encouraging His people during difficult times.  Here are some encouraging Bible verses for when you feel like giving up.

What Does the Bible Say About Quitting or Giving Up?

The wonderful news is that God does not condemn or shame us when we feel down.  He knows we are merely humans with limited strength.  Throughout God’s Word, we see Him telling His people to continue persevering and not give up.  

The times when we feel like we have nothing left to give, are the times He wants us to lean into Him more.  He wants to become our strength when we are weak, He wants to make beauty from ashes, and He wants to turn our mourning into joy. 

 It is during the moments when we feel like giving up that are the opportunities to really know Him for who He is – the loving Father who loves us with an everlasting love.

Bible Verses for When You Feel Like Giving Up 

Even though we may feel like giving up, God never gives up on us!  Never giving up is actually one of the attributes of love listed in 1 Corinthians 13.  In many of David’s psalms, the top two attributes of God that he constantly praises God for are His love and faithfulness.  

Here are some Bible verses that will surely encourage you when you feel like giving up.

  • Jeremiah 33:3 – Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.
  • Psalm 23:6 – Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.
  • 1 Timothy 6:12 – Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
  • 2 Timothy 2:13 – If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:58 – Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
  • Ephesians 6:7-8 – Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.  Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
  • Galatians 6:9 – Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
  • Revelation 3:8 – I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.

Verses For When You Feel Like a Failure

You are not the only one who has failed or felt like a failure.  Anyone who has ever tried doing something has probably been unsuccessful at some point.  But the key is to fail forward with God!  Learn the lesson and get back up.  He will never leave you down.  These Bible verses will keep you going when you feel like a failure.

  • Psalm 73:26 – My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
  • Luke 1:37 – For no word from God will ever fail.
  • 2 Corinthians 3:5 – Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.
  • 2 Corinthians 12:9 – Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can work through me.
  • Philippians 1:6 – being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
  • 1 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.
  • 1 John 5:4 – For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Bible Verses for When You Feel Hopeless

Hopelessness is one of the most dangerous feelings to have.  Proverbs 13:12 tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick.  It can cause us to do things we may later regret.  God is the God of hope.  No matter how dark a situation seems, God can shine light into the bleakest of circumstances.  Keep your thoughts on things above and you will surely walk through the valley to the other side.  

Here are some hope-filled Bible verses for when you feel hopeless.

  • Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
  • Isaiah 40:31 – but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
  • Lamentations 3:22 – The faithful love of the Lord never ends!  His mercies never cease.
  • Psalm 27:13 – Yet I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living.
  • Psalm 36:23-24 – The Lord directs the steps of the godly.  He delights in every detail of their lives.  Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.
  • Psalm 145:14 – The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.
  • Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
  • Matthew 19:26 – Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
  • Hebrews 4:16 – Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Scriptures About Not Giving Up in Hard Times

God never told us that things would always be easy.  Instead, He promised us that He would be with us through the difficulties of life.  This is the hope that we have in Jesus.  Despite the suffering that Jesus endured, he kept his eyes on the joy set before him. 

 Let these Bible verses about not giving up in hard times give you the fuel to continue running the race set before you.

  • Deuteronomy 31:8 – Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.
  • 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.
  • Isaiah 43:2 – When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
  • Hebrews 12:3 – Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up
  • Philippians 3:13-14 – Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
  • Philippians 4:13 – I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:17 – For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
  • Romans 5:3-4 – Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 
  • 1 John 4:4 – You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

Bible Verses for When You Feel Defeated

Is there a Goliath in your life that continues to taunt you?  It is normal to feel defeated when the mountain in front of us seems too big to overcome.  Do not give up when you feel defeated because God is the One who will fight for you.  Although the battle is still raging, the war has been won.  

Bible verses for when you feel like giving up

May these Bible verses strengthen you for when you feel defeated.

  • Zechariah 4:6 – Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
  • 1 Samuel 17:45 –  David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
  • Joshua 10:25 – Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”
  • Micah 7:8 – Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again.  Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.
  • Psalm 20:7 – Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
  • Psalm 40:2 – He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.  He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.
  • Proverbs 24:16 – The righteous may fall seven times but still get up, but the wicked will stumble into trouble
  • Matthew 11:28 – Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
  • Mark 11:23 – Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.
  • John 16:33 – 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.
  • 1 John 5:4 – For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:9 – We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
  • Hebrews 12:1 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

It is pretty evident to see that God has encouraged His people numerous times throughout the Bible.  He continues to encourage us when we feel like giving up because He knows the end from the beginning and He knows there is a great reward for those who persevere.  God is the God of the mountaintops as well as the God of the valleys.  Because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we can continue trusting in Him during the difficulties of life.

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Meet the Author

Jackie Newton was born and raised in Hawaii, but has been living in India since 2017 with her husband and two kids. She enjoys teaching, learning the Word of God, and encouraging others in their spiritual walk. You can connect with her at her website www.ifthismomcan.com or on other social media platforms by searching “If This Mom Can.”