Bible Verses That Will Lift Your Spirit

Life has imperfect moments that cause one to question his/her existence and role in a vast world. I've had numerous downs in humbling myself to the will of the Sovereign Lord. Indeed, I have done marvelous things in my youth as well as terrible. I turned to Ecclesiastes in contemplating my career choices, Corinthians in understanding love, and Exodus in learning how to put His will before my own. I often contemplated the religion of my youth and found myself flipping through pages of the bible at twenty-four years old. Christianity is not for the perfect, the self-righteous, or the overly pious. Reading various chapters, books, and verses in the bible...a lot of the characters of old faced impediments of the modern time. The intricate feelings of abandonment, confusion, uncertainty, were all found in the bible. However, there are more verses conveying God's grace, love, mercy, and hope. I will share a few verses to help you get through whatever situation you may be facing and aren't sure how to cope.

Corinthians is all about love. The book is addressed to the church in Corinth; an apostle was trying to address the hypocrisy of the church (oh my goodness). However, some of the most powerful messages come from this particular book.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

1st Corinthians 1:26-30

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”^[d]

King David was more than a shepherd boy turned king. He had Saul as a hater, a dysfunctional family, and he seduced a woman only to kill her husband. However, he was a man after God's own heart. He revered the Lord through turmoil and redemption. Imagine a son wanting to kill you, imagine a king wanting to crush you, and who can really fathom the hardship of leading an entire nation? Psalms can be summed up as a large ode to God's mercy, grace, and power.

Psalm 95:5-10

Psalm 91:5-10King James Version (KJV)

⁵ Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;⁶ Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.⁷ A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.⁸ Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.⁹ Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;¹⁰ There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

The Lord spoke to Job; Job was a wonderful and loved servant. Satan asked God if he could afflict him to prove his loyalty. Job withstood the daunting task of losing his health, his children, the companionship of friends, and even the disapproval of his wife. His faith was strong enough to withstand adversity, but his pride God put into check. He healed his beloved follower and restored him.

Job 42:1-3

1Then Job replied to the Lord:² “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.³ You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.

Lastly, I will choose a verse from Isaiah. Isaiah was a prophet and Israel was in a tumultuous time. The Lord was angry with his people; they were backsliding. Often, we fall short of God's glory. In a world that is chaotic, sometimes we feel vastly removed from its ways. Even the scriptures say that his ways are not our ways. However, he still provides hope and relief for his subjects.

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. NIV

My conclusion to this article is that even in the most difficult and unbelievable circumstances God is not far off if one searches. You are good enough for grace and mercy and he loves us. Bombarded with society norms and worldly views, we are measured completely different than what we are accustomed. I only hope that you find God, continue to fight with faith, and believe that God is indeed on your side. By no means am I the model Christian, but I want to be a work that God is proud of. Who cares what labels man has placed upon you when there is a listening and forgiving Lord.