Bible Verses for Strength in Hard Times

In the Philippines we know storm season by heart. We watch the signal numbers rise, bring in the laundry, check on Lola, and wait for the wind to pass. Some storms, though, never show up on a weather map — a diagnosis, a lost job, a home that feels like it is coming apart.

Into every kind of storm, God speaks the same words: "So do not fear, for I am with you." He does not promise that hard times will pass us by. He promises Himself: "I will strengthen you and help you."

The psalmist calls Him "our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Ever-present. Not arriving after the clean-up, but there while the water is still rising.

And through Isaiah He says, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you." This is not a promise that nothing will ever touch us. It is a promise that no flood can carry us beyond His reach. Notice, too, the word through. The way out is often the way through, and He walks it with you.

If you are tired of being strong, you do not have to manufacture strength today. Simply ask for His. Then let others help — your church, your neighbors, the bayanihan that has carried Filipino families through every flood.

Write Isaiah 41:10 somewhere you will see it this week, and read it aloud whenever the wind picks up.