These are hard times for hope. And yet hope is vital—it fuels our resilience and perseverance; it’s the reason we get up and fight on. Hope is powerful—the force that sustains us through hardship, disappointment, injustice, and pain—because we know that better things lie ahead. That all is not lost. That God is good, and He is with us.
Every time we turn on the news or log into social media, our hope takes a hit. We are weary, disheartened, bewildered, perhaps tipping toward cynicism and hopelessness.
I keep returning to this:
Our hope is not in politics or policies.
Our hope is not in people or presidents.
Our hope is not in circumstances, or in anything we can see.
Our hope is in God, who never changes, never fails, and is bigger than all the madness the world manufactures.
If you’re feeling down, searching for a spark to rekindle a flickering hope, here are a few Bible verses to help.
5 Bible Verses to Give You Hope
1.
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)
Our hope is indestructible.
We may feel hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, even struck down. But thanks to Jesus, we are not crushed, despairing, abandoned, or destroyed. Thanks to Jesus, we live on, we fight on, we hope on.
Related post: When You Walk Through a Valley
2.
We who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. (Hebrews 6: 16-18)
Our hope is firm.
Our hope is in God, our hope is an anchor, and our anchor is secure. It can weather the wildest of storms.
And take a look at this verse in the J.B. Phillips translation—there’s a nuance in it I adore:
We who are refugees from this dying world might have a source of strength, and might grasp the hope that he holds out to us. This hope we hold as the utterly reliable anchor for our souls, fixed in the very certainty of God himself in Heaven.
We who are refugees from this dying world… If you’ve felt like a stranger here lately, adrift in a world where you don’t fit, it’s because you no longer truly belong here. You are but a refugee awaiting entrance into your heavenly home. And your anchor is “utterly reliable,…fixed in the very certainty of God himself.” Now that’s reason to hope.
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3.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Our hope is eternal.
It can outlast the longest seasons of struggle.
One day, hard as it is to imagine, we will look back on these earthly sufferings as merely light and momentary troubles—heaven with all its joy and peace is forever.
Related post: When Your Life Feels Wasted
4.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:18-25)
Our hope is unseen, but it is real, and it is worth the wait.
If you’ve been groaning in your spirit (or groaning aloud!), take heart: creation groans with you. The very earth resists and laments the pain and struggle of this sin-broken life. The whole world is weary.
But liberation awaits. Renewal is already bought, coming soon. And so we hope for what we do not yet have, and we wait in confidence for the day we know is coming: the day our hope becomes reality.

5.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare…. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation. (2 Peter 1:9-10, 13-15)
Our hope is in God, and our God is good.
Maybe you’ve wondered, “Where is God in all this? Why are things getting worse, not better?” We may not understand his timeline, His will, or His ways. We may not feel like He is working even when He is. He will see us through, counsel us through, love us through, the darkest of days.
In the end, He will set all things right:
He will conquer sickness and death.
He will bring justice to all—and for all.
He will bring His children home. Home to a place where love reigns and joy triumphs.
This is our promise. This is our future. And so we hope on.
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Thank you Elizabeth for this post full of HOPE. After a series of deaths (some due COVID-19) in my family hope seemed slip through my fingers. Most of those that passed away are far from where I live which makes it feel even more overwhelming. Thank you for reminding me that even though at times I may be hard pressed on every side, God is good to us and offers hope that is eternal, firm and secure. Here is where I will anchor my heart.
I’m so sorry to hear about your losses. I am glad to hear these words have been a comfort. Sending love to you.