31 Hopeful Bible Verses for Pain & Suffering {with Free Printable}

Get encouraging Bible verses for your pain and suffering.

Are you in the middle of a difficult life situation?

• Perhaps you or someone you love live with chronic pain or illness.
• Maybe you’ve experienced a damaging, hurtful, or abuse relationship.
• Are you living with the effects of a trauma?

Do you want to turn to God for comfort, but you feel overwhelmed? Use these 31 Scripture verses about sadness and pain to learn of God’s unending love and grace for you during your difficult times.

What Does the Bible Say About Healing & Pain?

During our human lifetime, we experience incredibly hurts:

• Grief from loss of a loved one to death
• Heartache from broken relationships
• Abuse and injustice
• Physical pain from injury, illness, childbirth, surgery, or chronic conditions
• Emotional pain and hurt feelings
• Watching a loved one hurting
• Loneliness
• Depression and sadness
• Anger and resentments we struggle to let go of

You have probably had times when you felt like hurt would overwhelm you. Have you gone through times when you were so despondent that you could barely function? I have.

During those moments, it’s hard to rely on God. Everything looks bleak.

You may cry out to God and ask why. You may wonder how a loving God can allow such bad things to happen.

During situations of testing, I trust that God has a plan for my greater good. I often don’t feel it, but I trust it because God has promised it. I choose to have faith, even when it’s not reflected in my current circumstances.

Top 3 Promises from the Bible for Sadness & Pain

During your times of sickness, pain, or hurt, trust in these promises of God.

1. The pain you’re feeling can’t compare to the joy that’s coming.

Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

You live in a world that is broken by sin, but someday you will be in heaven, where there is no more pain and no more suffering (Revelation 21:4). You will see God’s glory and the pain you are going through now will be small compared to that incredible joy.

2. Your pain won’t last forever.

Allow the words of Psalm 30 to soak into your soul,

For his anger is but for a moment,
    and his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

Psalm 30:5

If you are going through a difficult time, remember that joy will come again. Cling to the other promise in this passage, too – God’s favor lasts a lifetime.

3. God has a purpose for your pain.

Romans 8:28 tells us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 it says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

God’s ways are higher than our ways. You may not understand why God has given you the challenges that you currently face, but you can trust that God has a greater good in mind.

Your test becomes your testimony. Your mess becomes your message. Not only does God have your greater good in mind, but He will even use you to bless and comfort others.

31+ Best Scriptures to Endure Pain & Heartache

During times of intense pain, it’s tempting to think God has abandoned you. You may at times feel alone, but you are not alone. Use the truth of scripture in these verses to counteract the lies from the enemy. All verses are listed in English Standard Version (ESV).

1. Deuteronomy 31:8-9 – The Lord goes before you.

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:8-9

2. Psalm 116:1-2 – God heard my pleas for mercy.

I love the Lord, because he has heard
    my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

Psalm 116:1-2

3. 1 Peter 5:9-10 – The God of grace will restore you.

Resist him (Satan), firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

1 Peter 5:9-10

4. Revelation 21:4 – He will wipe away every tear from your eye.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

Revelation 21:4

5. Hebrews 4:16 – With confidence draw near the throne of grace.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:16

6. Joshua 1:9-10 – Be strong and courageous.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

7. Lamentations 3:31-62 – The Lord has compassion according to His steadfast love.

For the Lord will not
    cast off forever,

but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
for he does not afflict from his heart
    or grieve the children of men.

Lamentations 3:31-33

8. John 14:16-17 – The Helper will be with you forever.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

John 14:16-17

9. Matthew 4:23-25 – Jesus heals the sick.

And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

Matthew 4:23-25

10. Psalm 27:1 – The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

11. Jeremiah 29:11 – God has plans for you, to give you a future and a hope.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

12. Psalm 23:4 – Even in death, God is with me.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

13. John 14:26-27 – Peace I give you.

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

John 14:26-27

14. Psalm 86:17 – The Lord helps and comforts me.

Show me a sign of your favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 86:17

15. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – The God of all comfort, comforts you.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

16. 1 Peter 4:12-14 – Share in Christ’s sufferings and share in His glory.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

1 Peter 4:12-14

17. Hebrews 12:1-2 – Run the race with endurance.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

18. Psalm 119:76 – God’s steadfast love comforts me.

Let your steadfast love comfort me
    according to your promise to your servant.

Psalm 119:76

19. John 16:20-23 – The pain of childbirth and the joy that’s coming.

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

John 16:20-23

20. Psalm 9:9 – The Lord is a stronghold in times of trouble.

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.

Psalm 9:9

21. Romans 8:18-19 – Your suffering is not worth comparing to the joy that’s coming.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God

Romans 8:19-20

22. Psalm 91:1-2 – God is your refuge and fortress.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 91:1-2

23. Matthew 26:38-39 – Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane

Then he (Jesus) said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Matthew 26:38-29

24. Psalm 46:1 – God is a present help in trouble.

God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1

25. Luke 22:44 – Jesus prayed and his sweat was like drops of blood.

And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Luke 22:44

26. Psalm 119:50 – Your promises give me life.

This is my comfort in my affliction,
    that your promise gives me life.

Psalm 119:50

27. Matthew 7:7-8 – Ask and it will be given to you.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Matthew 7:7-8

28. Psalm 34:18 – The Lord saves the crushed in spirit.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

29. Jeremiah 17:14 – Heal me, O Lord and I will be healed.

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
    save me, and I shall be saved,
    for you are my praise.

Jeremiah 17:14

30. Job 6:10 – Do not deny the words of the Holy One.

This would be my comfort;
    I would even exult in pain unsparing,
    for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

Job 6:10

31. Romans 8:28 – God works all things for good.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Whatever painful life situation you are currently facing, God offers you help, peace, and hope.

Which verse is most meaningful to you today? Share in the comments.

Hope for Pain Bible Reading Plan – FREE PDF Printable

Use these 31 Bible verses as part of your daily devotions or Bible Journaling. Consider writing the words on note cards and put the cards in places you will see it daily to be reminded of God’s truth on a regular basis.

Click the button to download the FREE Scripture reading plan now.

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Are you currently enduring a painful life situation? What verses bring you comfort? Share in the comments below.

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