25 Powerful Bible Quotes about Strength for When You Feel Weak
- Josie Siler Contributing Writer
- Updated May 10, 2021
As someone who lives with chronic illness, I know what it’s like to feel weak physically. I also know what it feels like to be so emotionally spent, even the thought of being strong is laughable. There are times in life when the combination of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual trials renders us a hopeless mess. I often say I feel like a wrung-out rag with not a drop left to give to anyone, including myself. But here’s the beautiful mystery of life with Jesus. When we come to the end of ourselves, He is there. Jesus can take our hopeless mess and transform it into a thing of beauty. When we are weak, He is strong. This is just one of many Bible quotes about strength that can encourage us when we feel weak.
What Does God Say about Overcoming Obstacles?
The first thing we need to know about obstacles is that we will have them. In John 16:33 (ESV) Jesus says, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Having a relationship with Jesus doesn’t mean all the hard things in life suddenly disappear. However, we now have someone on our side to help us through those trials. We can take heart when tribulations and trials come because Jesus Christ has overcome the world. As followers of Christ, we’re united with Him. That means we can overcome any obstacle we face because Jesus has already overcome the world. His victory is our victory!
God reminds us of this in 1 John 5:4. We read, “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world —our faith.” When we place our faith in Jesus, we can live a victorious life, even when trials and tribulations come our way.
Examples of Strength amidst Weakness in the Bible
One of my favorite examples of strength amidst weakness in the Bible is the Apostle Paul and the thorn in his flesh. We read about this in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. Paul talks about the time God revealed some incredible things to him in a vision. Things too great to speak about. Because of the greatness of what he saw and to keep him from becoming conceited, Paul was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan that harassed him. We don’t know exactly what this thorn in the flesh was, but many scholars believe it was a physical illness or affliction.
Paul tells us that three times he pleaded with the Lord to take it away, but God did not. Instead, God told him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Instead of becoming bitter, Paul saw this as a gift. He says, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” God’s strength shines through best in our weaknesses.
Another person who comes to mind when I think about strength and weakness is Samson. He’s famous for his strength and then losing it. We find his story in Judges 16:4-30. Samson loved a woman named Delilah who was paid a large sum of money to find the secret of Samson’s strength. After three failed attempts and ceaseless nagging and begging from Delilah, Samson told her the truth. Shave his hair and he would be weak as any other human. She shaved his hair off while he slept, and he was immediately captured by the Philistines. They mocked him, gouged out his eyes, and put him to work in the prison mill. As the days went by, his hair began to grow again.
When the Philistines gathered to worship their god Dagon, they brought Samson in to entertain them. They placed him between two pillars in the midst of a house filled with about 3,000 men and women. Then Samson remembered the Lord. He called on Him one last time and asked for his strength to return just this once so he could die with the Philistines. He put one hand on each of the two pillars, bowed down with all his strength and the house collapsed. This is a tragic story all around, but it reminds me of something important. Our strength comes from the Lord, but He won’t give it to us if we turn our back on Him. However, if we call out to the Lord in our weakness He will answer with His strength.
15 Bible Quotes about Strength
In his article 12 Scripture Verses to Help You Find Strength, Robert J. Morgan states, “The word ‘strength’ occurs 232 times in Scripture.” In His wisdom, God knew we would need lots of encouragement in our human weakness. Below are 15 Bible quotes about strength God has used to encourage me. I know He’ll use them to encourage you too! (All verses are from the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible. Italics mine.)
“The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him” Exodus 15:2.
“And Hannah prayed and said, ‘My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like the LORD; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God’” 1 Samuel 2:1-2.
“Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!” 1 Chronicles 16:11.
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” Psalm 28:7.
“May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!” Psalm 29:11.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah” Psalm 46:1-3.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” Psalm 73:26.
“I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation” Psalm 118:13-14.
“Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come” Proverbs 31:25.
“Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation” Isaiah 12:2.
“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” Isaiah 40:29-31.
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places” Habakkuk 3:17-19.
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” Ephesians 3:14-19.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” Ephesians 6:10.
“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service” 1 Timothy 1:12.
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" Deuteronomy 31:6
"But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble." Psalm 59:16
"Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." Jeremiah 32:17
"For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Deuteronomy 20:4
"My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word." Psalm 119:28
"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7
"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong." 1 Corinthians 16:13
"And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort." 2 Corinthians 1:7
"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Trials will come and our flesh will fail us. We will experience weakness in life, but God is our strength. He is here to help us through our trials and strengthen our weary bodies and souls when we cry out to Him.
Other Sources
12 Scripture Verses to Help You Find Strength
25 Bible Verses for Strength to Stand Strong in Hard Times
100 Encouraging Bible Verses that Will Strengthen Your Faith
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