20 Verses for a Friend in Need

Scripture is chock full of power and truth that reminds us: despite current circumstances or difficulties, the LORD reigns! Whether you or a friend are in need of peace concerning national events, encouragement, hope, recognizing worth, or grace, here are 20 verses to remind you of God’s incredible promises.

FOR A FRIEND IN NEED OF PEACE CONCERNING NATIONAL EVENTS

1. Truth: We require the Lord’s leading in government.

Lamentations 4:17, ESV -  "Our eyes failed, ever watching vainly for help; in our watching we watched for a nation which could not save... (5:21) Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored!"

2. Truth: To see national restoration, we must pray for our fellow citizens to know the love of Christ.

2 Chronicles 7:14, NIV - “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

3. Truth: Jesus is the true hope of the world.

Isaiah 40:3-4, ESV - “A voice cries, ‘In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord: make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

4. Truth: Jesus’ mercy drove Him to act. The daughters of Zion were viewed as second class citizens, outcasts and not “good enough.” Yet these are the ones rescued by God’s immense compassion.

Zechariah 9:9-10, MSG - “Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion! Raise the roof, Daughter Jerusalem! Your king is coming! a good king who makes all things right, a humble king riding a donkey, a mere colt of a donkey. I’ve had it with war—no more chariots in Ephraim, no more war horses in Jerusalem, no more swords and spears, bows and arrows. He will offer peace to the nations, a peaceful rule worldwide, from the four winds to the seven seas.”

FOR A FRIEND IN NEED OF ENCOURAGEMENT

5. Truth: You may feel in despair and abandoned, but the Lord has not forgotten your plight.

Psalm 38:9-10, ESV - “Oh Lord, all my longing is before you my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes - it also has gone from me… (15) But for you, O Lord, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.”

6. Truth: The Lord Himself will comfort you in your sorrow.

Isaiah 49:13, ESV - “Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion on His afflicted.”

7. Truth: The Lord will produce signposts of His coming Kingdom by fighting specifically for those seemingly forgotten by society.

Psalm 82:3-4, ESV - “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked… (8) Arise, O God, judge the earth, for you shall inherit all the nations.”

8. Truth: We may wish to cry, scream, or become unhinged in our emotions, mind or spirit, but we can trust that His love will bring comfort.

Zephaniah 3:17 ,ESV - “'He will quiet you with his love.”

FOR A FRIEND IN NEED OF HOPE

9. Truth: The text states “sit” rather than “lie.” This is not one who is dead, with no hope of life, but rather one sitting helpless, unable to restore herself, waiting for the Lord to rescue. The one true God discovers His children sitting in dark obscurity and brings them into His marvelous light of Truth.

Micah 7:8-9, ESV - “Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon His vindication.”

10. Truth: Declare the Lord your impenetrable fortress against any difficulty. Consider your heart and spirit locked securely in hope, surrounded completely by God’s truth.

Zechariah 9:12, ESV - “Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope.”

11. Truth: The Lord is victorious; He will produce justice and joy in and through you.

Isaiah 29:19, MSG - “The castoffs of society will be laughing and dancing in God, the down-and-outs shouting praise to The Holy of Israel.”

12. Truth: Salvation is not found within ourselves and our strength, but only through God’s grace.

Jonah 2:6, ESV - “Yet you brought my life up from the pit… Salvation belongs to the Lord.”

13. Truth: Releasing your struggles to the Lord is absolutely freeing.

Psalm 73:21-28, MSG - “When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy, I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in your very presence. I’m still in your presence, but You’ve taken my hand. You wisely and tenderly lead me, and then You bless me. You’re all I want in heaven! You’re all I want on earth! When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left You are falling apart! Deserters, they’ll never be heard from again. But I’m in the very presence of God - oh, how refreshing it is! I’ve made Lord God my home. God, I’m telling the world what you do!”

FOR A FRIEND IN NEED OF RECOGNIZING WORTH

14. Truth: We are unique individuals, designed and known by an incredible Master Creator. Rather than spending our days comparing, we must get to thriving in the gifts God has granted us.

Galatians 5:25-26, MSG - “Since this is the kind of life we have chose, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.”

15. Truth: The Christian life is not a strict moral code to which we must adhere, but rather a lifestyle that produces freedom and joy as we fully receive the grace Jesus has offered us.

Galatians 6:18, MSG - “May what our Master Jesus Christ gives freely be deeply and personally yours, my friends. Oh, yes!”

16. Truth: The Lord is aware of our needs and is engaged with our desires. He carries those “pregnant” with a dream, and provides them nourishment to fulfill that which they carry within them (purpose, desire to do His will, etc.).

Isaiah 40:10-11, ESV - “Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm rules for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; he will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”

17. Truth: When you face disappointment or concern, enter His presence, present your struggles, and give Him glory in your current season, even as you entrust Him with your future.

1 Samuel 1:9-11 MSG, “So Hannah ate. Then she pulled herself together, slipped away quietly, and entered the sanctuary. The priest Eli was on duty at the entrance to God’s Temple in the customary seat. Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried—inconsolably. Then she made a vow: Oh, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, if you’ll take a good, hard look at my pain, if you’ll quit neglecting me and go into action for me by giving me a son, I’ll give him completely, unreservedly to you. I’ll set him apart for a life of holy discipline.”

FOR A FRIEND IN NEED OF GRACE

18. Truth: Rather like a captain throwing items overboard to lighten or rid the ship of a load, the Lord is faithful to forgive your wrongdoings, ridding you of the weight, and setting your spirit and mind free to thrive in His gift of grace.

Micah 7:19, ESV - “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

19. Truth: Despite unworthiness you may feel, there is Real Life to be had in Jesus Christ. Through His grace, you can experience the beauty that comes with being in relationship with Him.

Ephesians 3:14-19, MSG - “My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by His Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite Him in. And I ask Him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.”

20. Truth: We cannot save ourselves; however, He invites us to do the journey with Him. As we walk with Him, He will teach us to work not out of a checkmarked list to qualify for grace, but rather out of a heart submitted to His character. We will become like Him, and soon find ourselves passionate for doing Kingdom work such as loving our neighbor.

Ephesians 2:7-10, MSG -  “Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”

Julie Langford and her best friend (and husband) Andrew love living in Portland, Oregon where she enjoys practicing ballet, exploring outdoor adventures, and inventing a new kind of wheel (or enjoying reinventing the old one). You can learn more about her and Learning to Become at www.learningtobecome.com.

Publication date: July 13, 2016