Are you in a time of difficulty? You can find joy in Jesus no matter what you are going through. Read 32 Bible verses about joy in hard times.
When the inevitable times of hardship come our way, we can cling to Christ for joy, peace and patients during those fiery moments.
It can feel impossible to feel joy when you are going through something difficult. That logic doesn’t make sense, does it? Except that, we serve a God who brings beauty from ashes and can even bring out joy, not just after, but in the midst of suffering.
I’ve experienced it firsthand and can only explain it with “but God.”
This isn’t about pasting a smile on your face and pretending like everything is okay when it’s not. It’s about allowing yourself to feel both the hard and the moments of joy at the same time.
One of the best ways that you can find that joy is through fixing your thoughts on His Word, and meditating on Bible verses about joy in hard times.
32 Bible Verses About Joy in the Hard Times
1. 1 Peter 4:12-13 – Rejoice As You Partake in His Sufferings
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
2. James 1:2-4 – Count it Joy When You Face Trials
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
3. Romans 12:12 – Be Patient in Affliction
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
4. Romans 5:3-5 – Suffering Produces Perseverance
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
5. 2 Corinthians 12:10 – When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
6. Philippians 3:10 – Becoming Like Christ
I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.
7. Hebrews 12:2
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
8. Romans 8:18-21 – Present Suffering and Future Glory
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
9. James 1:12 – Blessed Are Those Who Perseveres Under Trial
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
10. Psalm 94:19 – Your Consolation Brought Me Joy
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
11. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – The Father of Compassion and the God of All Comfort
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
12. Colossians 1:24 – Rejoicing in Suffering
Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.
13. Psalm 34:19 – The Lord Delivers the Righteous
The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all.
14. 1 Peter 3:14 – You Are Blessed Even When You Suffer For What Is Right
But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.
15. 2 Corinthians 12:9 – His Grace Is Sufficient
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
16. 1 Peter 5:10 – He Will Himself Restore You
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
17. John 15:11 – Your Joy May Be Complete
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
18. Matthew 5:10-12 – Great Is Your Reward In Heaven
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
19. Philippians 4:4 – Rejoice in the Lord, Always
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
20. John 14:27 – Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
21. Revelation 21:4 – He is Making All Things New
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
22. 1 Peter 1:6-7 Trials Prove the Genuineness of Your Faith
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
23. 2 Corinthians 4:17 – Light and Momentary Troubles
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
24. Habakkuk 3:17-19 – I Will Rejoice in the Lord
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.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
25. Psalm 16:11 – You Will Fill Me With Joy In Your Presence
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
26. Psalm 34:18 – The Lord is Close to the Brokenhearted
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
27. Philippians 1:6 – He Will Complete the Good Work He Began in You
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
28. Romans 8:28 – God Works For the Good Of Those Who Love Him
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
29. 2 Corinthians 1:5 – Our Comfort Abounds Through Christ
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
30. 1 Peter 2:19-21 – Follow in Christ’s Steps
For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?
But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
31. 1 Corinthians 10:13 – He Will Provide A Way Out
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
32. Psalm 94:18-19 – Your Consolation Brought Me Joy
When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
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