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Bible Verses About Strength: 15 Verses for When You Feel Weak

Fifteen Bible verses about strength, from Isaiah 40:31 to Nehemiah 8:10, grouped by what you’re facing, with a line on who said each one and why.

Grace BennettFounder of Versomi

5 min read

Block print of a lighthouse on a rocky point above the sea

The short answer

Start with Isaiah 40:31, Nehemiah 8:10 and Psalm 28:7. They describe strength that comes from waiting on God, from joy in him, and from trusting him. Philippians 4:13 is the best-known verse about strength; read the verses around it before you lean on it.

Bible verses about strength when you’re worn out

Every verse in this guide is quoted from the World English Bible, with a line about where it comes from.

  • Isaiah 40:31. “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.” Spoken to exiles who felt that God had lost track of them (Isaiah 40:27).
  • Habakkuk 3:19. “GOD, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places.” The prophet ends his book this way right after admitting the harvest might fail.
  • Nehemiah 8:10. “Don’t be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Said to a crowd that wept as Ezra read God’s law aloud, after the return from exile.
  • Exodus 15:2. “The LORD is my strength and song. He has become my salvation.” From the song Moses and Israel sang after crossing the sea.

Bible verses about strength when you’re afraid

  • Psalm 27:1. “The LORD is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?” A psalm of David, who had real enemies to fear.
  • Deuteronomy 31:6. “Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them, for the LORD your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.” Moses, near the end of his life, to a people about to go on without him.
  • Isaiah 12:2. “Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD, the LORD, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation.” A short song of thanks that echoes Exodus 15:2.
  • Psalm 28:7. “The LORD is my strength and my shield. My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. With my song I will thank him.” The psalm opens as a cry for help and ends in thanks.

Bible verses about strength for something hard ahead

  • Joshua 1:9. “Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” God’s words to Joshua as he took Moses’ place.
  • Ephesians 6:10. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” Paul’s opening line before he describes the armor of God.
  • 1 Chronicles 16:11. “Seek the LORD and his strength. Seek his face forever more.” From the song of thanks David gave the singers when the ark of the covenant came to Jerusalem.
  • Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Paul wrote this about being content with plenty or with little. There is more on that below.

Bible verses about strength in weakness

  • 2 Corinthians 12:10. “For when I am weak, then am I strong.” Paul wrote this after asking three times for an affliction, his “thorn in the flesh”, to be taken away.
  • Psalm 29:11. “The LORD will give strength to his people. The LORD will bless his people with peace.” The last line of a psalm about God’s voice in a storm.
  • 1 Peter 5:10. “But may the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.” Written to Christians who were suffering for their faith.

What does the Bible say about strength?

Most of these verses place strength outside the person speaking. Isaiah says God “gives power to the weak” (Isaiah 40:29), and the psalms call him “my strength” again and again, often in the same breath as “my song” or “my shield”.

That makes these verses honest about weakness. Habakkuk, David and Paul all admit they are tired, afraid or overwhelmed before they say where strength comes from. You don’t have to feel strong to pray them.

What does Philippians 4:13 really mean?

Philippians 4:13 is often read as a promise that you can do anything you set your mind to. In context, Paul is writing from prison about contentment. Just before it, he says, “In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in need.”

So “all things” includes going without. The verse promises strength to stay faithful in good times and bad, not success in every plan. Our guide to reading a Bible verse in context walks through it in more detail.

How to keep a verse about strength close

  1. Choose one verse from this list, the one that fits what you’re facing.
  2. Read the chapter around it once, so you know who is speaking and why.
  3. Write it out by hand, or save it where you’ll find it again.
  4. Say it aloud in the morning, before the day gets loud.
  5. Keep it where you’ll see it: a note on the mirror, or the Lock Screen of your phone.

Our guide to saving and memorizing Bible verses has more ways to make a verse stick.

Common questions

What is the most powerful Bible verse about strength?

Many people would choose Isaiah 40:31: “those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles.” Philippians 4:13 is the best known, and it is about contentment as much as strength.

What does the Bible say about strength in weakness?

Paul writes that he takes pleasure in weakness and hardship, and ends with “For when I am weak, then am I strong.” The strength he describes comes from God, not from himself.

Is “God gives his hardest battles to his strongest soldiers” in the Bible?

No. It is a modern saying, and no verse says it. The Bible’s own words about hard times are closer to Isaiah 40:29, where God “gives power to the weak”.