If you are searching for scriptures about suffering, this list gives you verses to hold onto when pain, loss or a long season of hardship has left you tired and unsure of what God is doing. It is written for anyone walking through difficulty, whether the cause is illness, grief, injustice or a quiet ache that has no clear name. Each verse here speaks to God’s nearness and faithfulness in the middle of hard things, not to a promise that the pain will be removed on your schedule.
The verses share a common thread: suffering is real, God sees it, and He does not leave His people alone inside it. Several of them were written by people who were in the middle of trouble when they wrote them, which is part of why they still ring true.
Verses for Nights When the Pain Will Not Lift
Some seasons of suffering stretch into the small hours, when prayers feel thin and the room feels too quiet. These verses speak to the nights when you can barely find words, and they remind you that God is present even when sleep will not come.
Psalm 34:18
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
(WEB)
This verse describes God’s closeness to the wounded rather than His distance from them. Tonight, when grief or fear feels heavy, try saying the first half aloud slowly, then stop and name the one thing that hurts most.
Psalm 73:26
My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
(WEB)
The psalmist admits his heart and body are failing, yet he finds his strength in God rather than in his own resources. When your own strength runs out, write this verse on a card and place it beside your bed for the morning.
Lamentations 3:22-23
22 It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. 23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
(WEB)
Lamentations is a book of sorrow, and even in it the writer remembers that God’s mercies are renewed each morning. Before you check your phone or your messages tomorrow, pause and thank God for one mercy you can see.
Romans 8:18
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us.
(WEB)
Paul does not dismiss present pain; he sets it in the context of a larger hope. When the current hardship feels like the whole story, read this verse and ask God to show you one sign that the story continues beyond today.
Verses for Waiting on God in the Hard Middle
Suffering is often less about one crisis than about the long wait afterward, when nothing has been resolved and every day looks the same. These verses are for those who are waiting for answers, healing or change that has not yet come.
Isaiah 40:31
But those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
(WEB)
Isaiah speaks to a weary people who feel forgotten, and he links renewed strength to waiting on the Lord. Practically, this means choosing one unhurried moment each day to sit quietly and tell God honestly how tired you are.
Psalm 27:13-14
13 I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD.
(WEB)
David expresses confidence that he will see God’s goodness, and then urges himself to wait with courage. If waiting makes you anxious, speak these verses to yourself out loud during your commute or while doing dishes.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
17 For though the fig tree doesn’t flourish, nor fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fails, the fields yield no food; the flocks are cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls: 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
(WEB)
Habakkuk describes a time when nothing seems to produce, yet he chooses to rejoice in God. If your circumstances are bleak, write down one thing God has been to you this year and keep the list where you will see it.
James 1:2-4
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
(WEB)
James does not pretend trials are pleasant, but he says they can produce steadiness over time. Rather than asking God to end the trial immediately, try praying that He would grow patience in you through it.
Verses for Remembering Christ’s Own Suffering
Christians do not suffer alone, because Jesus entered human pain and endured it fully. These verses point to Christ as the one who understands sorrow from the inside and who stands with those who are hurting.
Hebrews 4:15-16
15 For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need.
(WEB)
The writer of Hebrews says Jesus was tested in every way we are, which means He understands your pain. When you feel too ashamed or worn out to pray well, come to God through Christ and say just what is true.
Isaiah 53:3
He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
(WEB)
This prophecy describes the Servant as acquainted with grief, a phrase that tells you Christ is not a stranger to sorrow. Spend a few minutes imagining Jesus sitting beside you in your hardest room, and let that picture guide your prayer.
1 Peter 2:21
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps…
(WEB)
Peter presents Christ’s suffering as an example to follow, not a puzzle to solve. Ask yourself today what faithful response to pain looks like in your own relationships, and take one small step toward it.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
(WEB)
Paul calls God the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our trouble. Think of one person who is hurting right now and pray that God would comfort them as He has comforted you.
John 16:33
I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world.”
(WEB)
Jesus tells His disciples plainly that they will have trouble, and then tells them to take heart because He has overcome the world. Let this verse steady you when you are tempted to think that trouble means God has lost control.
Verses for Hope That Outlasts Pain
The Bible does not end with suffering. These verses look ahead to the restoration God promises, giving you a horizon beyond the present ache.
Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”
(WEB)
John describes a future in which God wipes away every tear and death itself is gone. When grief feels endless, let this promise remind you that your sorrow is not the final word.
Psalm 30:5
For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.
(WEB)
The psalm contrasts a night of weeping with a morning of joy, and it does not promise the night will be short. Mark one morning this week when you notice even a small gladness, and thank God for it.
Romans 5:3-5
3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope: 5 and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
(WEB)
Paul traces a path from suffering through endurance and character to hope, and he says that hope does not disappoint. Keep a simple journal of where you see endurance growing, however slowly.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
17 For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; 18 while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
(WEB)
Paul says present troubles are light and momentary compared with what is coming, and he urges believers to fix their eyes on the unseen. When your focus narrows to the problem in front of you, deliberately lift your eyes to God’s larger purpose.
How to Use These Verses
Write three or four of these verses on index cards or a note on your phone, and place them where you will see them during the hardest parts of your day, such as by the kitchen sink, on the bathroom mirror or on your nightstand. Repetition helps the words move from memory into the way you pray and think.
Read one verse slowly each morning, then spend a minute telling God what you are carrying that day. If you are struggling to pray, you can read a verse back to God as your prayer, asking Him to make it true in your heart.
A Short Prayer for Suffering
Lord, I am tired, and some days the pain feels bigger than my ability to hold it. I bring You what hurts, including the questions I do not know how to ask well. Thank You that You see me, that You understand sorrow through Christ, and that You are not put off by my honesty. Be near me in the waiting, steady me in the hard moments, and help me trust that You are working even when I cannot see the way forward. Hold me as I hold on to You. Amen.