In times of trial, it’s so easy to lose hope. In today’s post, Gina M Poirier shares 10 amazing Bible verses about trusting God in difficult times that can help carry you through your most difficult moments.
One of the most difficult times in my life was when I couldn’t be with my daughter.
It was the spring of 2020. My husband and I had been waiting for several years for the referral and processing of the international adoption of a sweet little girl.
We got to meet her in her home country of Bulgaria in February.
After all that prayer, hoping, and waiting, things were finally moving forward. If all went smoothly, we would be able to return to the country in 3–4 months to pick her up and bring her home.
Then everything came to a standstill.
You’ll probably never forget what was going on in your life when the Covid pandemic started.
For our family, it was the time when we were so close to having hope fulfilled, only to seemingly have it snatched away.
No one knew what was going to happen. The courts and agencies that were processing our paperwork shut down. International travel halted.
How long would the delay be? A few weeks? Months? A year or more? Would the whole process crumble amidst the chaos?
I have never needed Bible verses about trusting God in difficult times more than I did then.
If you’re in a period in your life when your hope is on shaky ground, I hope these verses about trusting God in difficult times are as helpful for you as they were for me.
Related Reading: How to Overcome Doubt in Faith (3 Biblical Tips)
10 Bible Verses About Trusting God in Difficult Times
When you’re going through trials and suffering, Scripture verses about trusting God in difficult times can be such a comfort. The Bible’s whole narrative is about humanity’s journey in trusting their Creator.
I meditate on and pray through these verses about trusting God in difficult times when I need a reminder about the big picture: God’s story, what He’s doing in the world, His boundless grace and mercy, and how much I matter to Him.
As you consider them, try to think about them in their context, both within the passage and the Bible as a whole.
1. Proverbs 3:5–6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
This is probably one of the most well-known verses about trusting God in difficult times that comes from an exhortation in Proverbs. It tells us that sometimes we just don’t see things the way God does.
Just like a child can trust a loving parent even when they don’t understand what’s happening during hardships, trusting God in difficult times is possible when we see Him who is guiding us in the right direction.
2. Psalm 20:7–8
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
It is so easy (and so human) to trust in anything but God. This Psalm’s verses about trusting God in difficult times refer to people who rely on military power for strength and security. Likewise, we can lean on worldly sources of strength like power, financial security, or social standing.
When the things we hope for in the world crumble around us (and they will), trusting God in difficult times as well as the promises from God’s word is a choice we can make.
3. Psalm 46:8–10
Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
You may be familiar with verse 10, which is well-known, but it’s important to consider all these verses about trusting God in difficult times in their context. Just as in Psalm 20, God’s strength is compared to all the things that we tend to put our trust in.
Ultimately we can be still and trusting in God in difficult times because He is so much bigger and more powerful than whatever storms are brewing around us. He is an unbreakable refuge and fortress.
4. Jeremiah 17:10–14
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Here are more verses about trusting God in difficult times that are often pulled out of context. The Jews had been exiled to Babylon and were hoping to return to their homeland quickly. But God had other plans; He wanted them stay there for 70 years!
He reminded them that even though it wasn’t what they wanted, His plan for them was good. Likewise, when God’s plans for us aren’t what we expected, we can trust in God’s love and that He is nonetheless giving us hope and a future.
5. Habakkuk 3:17–18
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
I find these Bible verses about trusting God in difficult times very challenging. The minor prophet Habakkuk cries out to God, asking him why He is seemingly allowing evil to triumph. Many of us wrestle with this too, especially when we’re going through trials.
After a prayerful wrestling match, Habakkuk finally comes to find his joy and his trust in the God of hope in the third chapter and begins singing praises in gratitude—even though his situation looks hopeless in a year of drought. As many other scriptures about trusting God in difficult times attest, we too can rejoice, find delight, and practice thanksgiving no matter how difficult our times of trouble are.
6. 1 Kings 6:15–17
When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.
“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
I love this story about Elisha the prophet’s servant. Elisha prays that he will see what is happening in the spiritual realm. Even though God’s people seem outnumbered, God is with them in a big way!
These verses about trusting God in difficult times remind us that we just don’t see everything that is going on. But we can trust that we are not alone in difficult circumstances; God’s promises are true and we can trust in the power of the Holy Spirit even when we can’t see what He is doing!
Related Reading: How to Trust God’s Plan – When You Don’t Know What It Is
7. Matthew 6:25–34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
These verses about trusting God in difficult times come from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. They remind me to focus on one day at a time and to have patient endurance. When I have this mindset, God often surprises me in the unexpected ways He shows up.
8. John 16:33
“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.”
These verses about trusting God in difficult times, from Jesus again in John’s Gospel, once again remind us that there is something bigger going on than what we see. Of course, we will have trouble in a broken world; Jesus himself did! But we can have peace by trusting God in difficult times, knowing that He has overcome the powers of the world.
9. Romans 8:31–32
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
This is part of a longer passage of verses about trusting God in difficult times and overcoming struggles written by the apostle Paul, which I highly recommend you read. The all-powerful Creator God of the universe gave up everything for our sake.
Even though we may not always understand His ways or His timing, by trusting God in difficult times, we can know that He loves us and is willing to do anything for us.
10. Philippians 2:10–11
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
In these verses about trusting God in difficult times from Philippians 2, Paul describes how Jesus humbled himself by becoming human and dying. But that wasn’t the end of the story—ultimately everyone and everything will bend their knee to his authority.
The book goes on in chapter 4 to talk about finding the peace of God that passes all understanding in even the most difficult of circumstances.
It’s an encouraging reminder when it seems like evil and chaos are winning. The Lord is good, and He has great patience—and by trusting God in difficult times we know that in the end, He will make everything right.
Related Reading: How to Take Every Thought Captive (This is Life Changing!)
When we had to wait for our daughter, these Bible verses about trusting God in difficult times helped me be at peace. He had brought us this far in the adoption journey, and wherever it led, I knew that He loved her, He loved us, and He was working for good.
Ultimately the process was delayed a few months. After a lot of back and forth with agencies and airlines, along with a 2-week in-country quarantine, we were finally united with her and brought her home.
Want more verses about trusting God in difficult times? I have many more lists like this in my Mama Verses Collection as well as other resources.
I hope this encourages you and I’d love to hear from you. What Bible verses about trusting God in difficult times give you hope during your most difficult trials? What else helps you?
