If you’re a parent caring for children with special needs, read these comforting Bible verses in hard times as a reminder of God’s love and care.
Being a parent comes with unique challenges and God is constantly teaching new life lessons to parents as they journey through life with their children. Being a parent of a special needs child is often even more challenging, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. Parents of disabled children must learn early on how to receive an adequate amount of emotional, social, psychological, and spiritual support in their personal lives because of the high emotional and spiritual demands that will be placed upon them as they care for and guide their special needs child to develop into a healthy young adult.
Depending on the specific strengths and abilities of your child with special needs, there can be very difficult emotional responses that you as the parent will need to help your child or children navigate. God sees the challenges that you and your disabled child are facing and He will provide the wisdom and spiritual fortitude you need to best guide, teach, mentor, and love your child. God will provide you with the resources that you need to help your child respond in a healthy and developmentally appropriate way. God may specifically give you the insight you need to best love and guide your child or He may bring other professionals, such as healthcare professionals or counselors or other therapists, into your lives to help you navigate daily life.
As parents of special needs children, it is important to learn how to develop a good support system, and the Bible contains great wisdom and encouragement that can be especially helpful as you learn how to navigate daily life together as a family. God loves all people who have been created in His image and He has a special love and compassion for those who are crippled, deaf, blind, or have other disabilities. God wants to empower, equip, and encourage you as a parent of a special needs child. God loves you and your child dearly and there are quite a few verses in the Bible that demonstrate God’s compassion for those with special needs as well as instances where He tenderly healed those who brought their needs to Him.
May the Bible verses compiled below be a source of hope, encouragement, and stamina for you as you strive to parent your special needs child with love and compassion. God wants to empower you and give you the wisdom and insight you need along your parenting journey, and He desperately wants to partner with you and walk alongside you as you shine the beautiful light of Christ into the life of your precious special needs child. God will give you the strength you need and will reveal Himself to you in spectacular and miraculous ways when you need Him most. Trust in God and continually thank Him for the blessing of placing this special needs child in your life to steward for His glory.
May these Bible verses reveal God’s love for your special needs child, illustrate the power of the Holy Spirit that equips you to raise your child, remind you of how God created your child in its mother’s womb, demonstrate how to unconditionally love your child, remind you how God views those with disabilities, encourage you with acts of healing in the Bible, and remind you of how God uses foolish thing to shame human wisdom. Be encouraged by God’s Word with your heart and mind!
Bible Verses for Special Needs
Bible Verses About God’s Love to Encourage the Parents of Children with Special Needs
1. Zephaniah 3:17,20 – Because of God’s Love for You, He Rejoices Over You With Singing
“The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in His love He will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
…At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the Lord.
As the parent of a special needs’ child, you have been given a very precious responsibility as you care for the needs of your beloved child. While there are days when you are delighted to have the privilege of caring for your special child, there will also be days when you are beyond exhausted and just aren’t sure how you will survive until the end of the day.
Remember that on good days and challenging ones that God’s unfailing love is carrying you through. The love of God lives within you, allowing the presence of our Mighty God to go with you wherever you are. He will never leave or forsake you; you will never be abandoned by God. Not only so, but He is a Mighty Warrior who longs to fight your battles and fend off your enemies for you.
The great love of God is your strength. It is through the love of Christ that we have been saved and forgiven. Glory to God! In addition, God loves you so much that He takes great delight in you and will do whatever it takes to remind you of His love and reaffirm that the love of God is strong enough to overcome any obstacle.
God’s love delights to remind you of your worth, value, purpose, and significance in His eyes. God is so ecstatic to have you as His child that He rejoices over you with singing for all the world to hear, never once ashamed of you. His love also brings you back home into His loving arms where it is safe and secure. Allow yourself to rest in His presence, giving Him all your burdens, as the power of His love washes over your soul.
God loves you so much that He wants to honor and praise you among all the peoples of the earth. He wants everyone to know how proud He is of you and that the hard work that you are putting into raising a beautiful family never goes unnoticed. He sees you and His love equips you to accomplish every good work He has called you to complete. How precious is the love of God in your life that will never give up on you and always gives you everything you need. Thanks be to God for His everlasting love!
2. Isaiah 54:10 – My Unfailing Love for You Will Not Be Shaken
Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed,
yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor My covenant of peace be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
There are moments in life when we feel so overwhelmed by the situations we face and the decisions we need to make that taking a step forward seems impossible and God feels incredibly distant in our lives. Sometimes everything that feels secure and comfortable about our lives seems like it has been ripped out from under our feet. We are trying to hold on for dear life but fears and uncertainties seem to take control of our mind and emotions.
Whether you are on the mountaintop with God or walking through a dark valley, it is vitally important to claim God’s promise that His unfailing love will not be shaken and His covenant of peace will not be removed. Even if you are struggling to feel that intimate embrace of God’s presence in your life, you can still trust that His love never fails and He is still walking with you during these challenging moments of your life. He gives us an enduring peace that calms the weary soul and He pours out an abundance of His grace into our lives that is more than sufficient for everything we need. Thank You, Jesus!
May you be reminded today of the deep compassion God has for you, promising to be by your side no matter what life brings. His love for you and your child never fails and even if your world is shaking and the mountains are trembling, God envelops you with a warm embrace and floods you with His peace that passes all understanding. Lean on God for He cares deeply for you.
3. Romans 8:35,37-39 – You Are More Than a Conqueror Through the Love of Christ
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As a mom of a special needs’ child, you need an abundance of love, patience, compassion, grace, and an exceeding amount of wisdom and understanding. You probably have an infinite number of tasks waiting to be done on your “To Do” list and it is likely that your own agenda often has to be postponed or completely altered as events unfold in an unpredictable and unforeseen fashion. However, despite the heavy responsibilities you carry as you do your very best to love and guide your special needs’ child, you are more than a conqueror through Christ who loves and adores you.
In this verse in Romans, Paul asks if trouble or hardship or famine or danger or sword can separate us from the love of Christ. The answer is a definite no! Even these incredibly challenging circumstances, some of which have the potential to take one’s life, are not capable of separating us from God’s love. This means that even a frustrating disagreement with your child or missing an important appointment or having to restrict phone privileges or dealing with an emotional breakdown in the store are not able to separate you from God’s love.
God’s love for you is infinite and unconditional and nothing can block it from penetrating your heart and soul. Through the Holy Spirit who lives within you the love of God whispers how amazing you are, how capable you are, and how God will never let you go. His love is so powerful that it has equipped you to be more than a conqueror in all things in your life. When you are confused or anxious or frustrated or overwhelmed, you are more than a conqueror through Christ who continually whispers, “I love you, My child.”
Let us thank and praise God that nothing in all of creation–not the highest mountain or the lowest valley– can separate us from God’s sweet, tender, gentle, empowering love. May God’s love embrace our hearts and souls and remind us that we are beloved children of the Most High King.
Bible Verses About the Power of the Holy Spirit – Empowering Special Needs Parents To Thrive and Survive
4. John 16:7,12-14 – Jesus Has Given You the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Who Guides You in Truth
“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away.
Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you;
but if I go, I will send Him to you.
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.
But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.
He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears,
and He will tell you what is yet to come.
He will glorify Me because it is from Me that He will receive
what He will make known to you.”
Sometimes embracing the roles and responsibilities that come with being a good parent is overwhelming, but God understands what you are going through and He has empowered and equipped you with everything you need to rise to the occasion. One of the most important tools He has given you is the Holy Spirit living within you. The Holy Spirit has incredible power to change hearts, modify circumstances, and completely transform lives.
There are moments when it is challenging to know what the kindest, most loving, most influential, or most Christlike things to say or do are, but Jesus has promised that the Spirit of truth living inside our spirit will guide us into all truth, telling us exactly what Jesus wants us to know and glorifying God in the process.
How amazing is it that we have God Himself living within us! Knowing the truth completely transforms every situation in our lives and you can be confident that the Spirit will assure you of the best way to approach a situation if you will only ask for His help. The Holy Spirit is eagerly waiting to give you the guidance and wisdom you need to live a life that pleases Jesus and is worthy of the calling you have received.
When you learn how to lean on the Holy Spirit for guidance in each moment, you are relieved of the heavy burden you experience when you feel like you always have to have the perfect answer. Allow God to take your anxieties as He provides the wisdom and grace that you need to be the best parent you can be. Allow the Holy Spirit access to your mind and heart, so that He can transform your life in ways you never imagined possible.
5. Romans 15:13 – May the Power of the Holy Spirit Allow You to Overflow with Hope
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him,
so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Many times we associate the power of the Holy Spirit with convicting us of sin, speaking truth to our hearts, guiding us on the right path to take, or providing us with wisdom and discernment. These are all correct roles that the Holy Spirit has in our lives, but I love that God makes a special point of teaching us that the power of the Holy Spirit also allows us to overflow with hope. Praise God!
In a world filled with challenging obstacles and difficult trials that we face, it is easy to become discouraged with our lives. We could all use an extra dose of hope that reminds us that we can overcome our difficulties and tomorrow will be a better day. God refers to Himself here as the God of hope who will fill your heart and spirit with everlasting joy and all-sufficient peace when you choose to trust in Him instead of focusing on your problems.
Granted, choosing to trust in God instead of our circumstances is not always an easy thing to do. However, if you decide in your heart that you are going to put God first in your life, He will give you the faith and grace to be able to trust in Him. And as you receive that overflowing hope that is made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit living within you, it will get easier and easier to trust God in all things. He is always faithful and He will demonstrate His abundant love for you as you make the effort to surrender more and more of your life into His hands.
I pray that you will look forward to experiencing a profound joy of the Lord overflow from your life, touching the lives of all those with whom you interact each day. Joy makes our days so much more fun and it will equip you with renewed strength to achieve more than you ever thought possible. In addition, God promises you a peace that will fill your life and calm your fears and anxieties. People will marvel at how you are so calm and at rest given the events in your life, and what an awesome opportunity to testify to the greatness of your God.
May hope, joy, and peace be your constant companions as you learn to trust in the perfect plans and purposes of God. May the power of the Holy Spirit at work in your life overflow you with hope and all good things as He moves in your life, growing your faith and reminding you to rest in the goodness of God at work in your life. May the power of the Spirit equip you mightily for the privilege of raising your special needs’ child and may you be overwhelmed with gratitude at the ways He is empowering and providing for you. God is good!
6. John 14:26-27 – The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Will Teach You All Things
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name,
will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
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.
You will often hear it said that parents wish their children came with a training manual. Every child is different and parents will frequently encounter situations or emotional outbursts that they have never experienced and feel clueless and ill-equipped as to how to best handle things. You very likely have experienced a similarly complex and confusing situation with your own special needs’ child, and these scenarios often leave parents feeling bewildered and ill-equipped as to the best way to respond. While I certainly cannot answer all of your complex parenting questions, I do have some good news that can help.
God cares deeply for you and knows all the struggles you are facing, and in His compassion, He has given us the Holy Spirit who advocates on our behalf and has come to teach us everything we need to know. The Holy Spirit lives inside of each of us as believers and will remind us of everything Jesus came to this earth to tell us. When things feel perplexing and overwhelming, all we have to do is ask the Spirit for wisdom or guidance or God’s promises that will teach us what to do or say.
I love that God our Father knows and cares for us so well that He provided this Advocate who is always with us and is always working on our behalf and in our best interest. Through the Holy Spirit who is at work within our spirit, we have access to the peace that Jesus promised to give us as He was leaving this earth. He has given us a deep, penetrating, all-encompassing peace that saturates the deepest places of our soul and spirit to nourish and soothe us. Jesus lovingly wants to free us from our troubles and those places of fear and uncertainty that keep us in bondage. Instead, He has made a way for His peace to saturate our lives through the Holy Spirit at work within us.
The Holy Spirit acts on behalf of both God the Father and Jesus Christ our Savior to communicate the love, peace, joy, knowledge, and wisdom of God to us as we bow down before Him and acknowledge our need for His presence in our lives. May the Spirit teach you phenomenal new truths and renew the love and peace in your hearts for the Lord. Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Scriptures on Mother’s Womb and How God Formed Human Beings – The Mind-Blowing Works of God
7. Psalm 139:13-15 – God Knit You Together in Your Mother’s Womb
For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Considering God as our Creator is one of the most humbling and awe-inspiring reflections we can have about God as we consider how God allows new life to literally spring forth from His hands in the womb. Even though I love peering at a snow-covered mountain range or watching the water rapidly swirl around rocks and twigs as it cascades down a waterfall, there is absolutely nothing in the world that compares to the inspiration that is felt while holding a newborn baby in one’s arms.
God has created ten little fingers and ten little toes, a heart capable of pumping thousands of drops of blood through every vessel in the body, a pair of lungs that brings life-giving oxygen to every portion of the body, and a brain that is able to think and reason and reflect and create. What a miracle that all this was created as your child was growing and developing in the womb. Praise God that your child was fearfully and wonderfully made by such an awesome God, a God who infinitely loves each child He creates and who has a beautiful plan and purpose for each life that exists.
While there have certainly been some challenges and some heartaches that raising a child with special needs’ presents, please know that your child is deeply loved by God and He has given him or her unique abilities or insights that only your child possesses. These special talents and gifts are things that God will use to bless the life of others through your child as he or she develops the unique and absolutely precious calling God has placed on his or her life. Praise God!
I pray that as you draw your child into a loving embrace in your arms, you can’t help but worship the holy and magnificent God that gave you the gift of your child. Your child is fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, and God wove and knit each person together in the depths of the earth with great purpose and intention. May you rejoice each day in the things that your child can do and always remember that God has mind-blowing goals in mind for your child to achieve. May your son or daughter grow up to embrace and treasure the person God created him or her to become, a process that started way back in the mother’s womb. Only God can create new life; let us celebrate that we are witnesses to the great works of His hands!
8. Psalm 127:3-5 (ESV) – The Fruit of the Womb Are a Reward and Heritage From the Lord
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!
In the current times in which we live, it is generally assumed that a man and his wife will decide together how many children they want to raise in their household. However, Solomon makes it clear in this psalm that children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord. God Himself is the one who creates a child in its mother’s womb, knitting the young person together in the inner depths until that glorious and miraculous day of birth.
Although a child may no longer receive a literal inheritance as in the days of old, a child still inherits the personal values and character traits that the parents impart as they are raising their precious child. What an incredible privilege that God allows us to participate with Him in raising a child into adulthood, allowing the person to behold the hope and joy and purpose-filled future that God has created him or her to exemplify in his or her life.
Raising children is definitely no easy task and requires time, nourishing good values, emotional strength and fortitude, strength, perseverance, and financial resources. Still, raising a special needs’ child is a reward from the Lord and He will richly supply you with everything you need to complete this noble task well. A large family is a blessing from the Lord and He promises to draw near to you as you call upon His name for help to overcome the unforeseen challenges you are facing with your child. Whether it is a behavioral issue or an emotional weakness or a cognitive obstacle, God is right beside you to walk out the solutions to your problems together and He delights to rejoice with you and your family when you experience victories.
God delights in you as His child and rejoices over you with singing, and He longs for you to see the pride and joy He feels as He looks down upon your family. May you continue to worship God for creating your beautiful, unique child and may you be overwhelmed with gratitude to God at all the blessings He has bestowed upon your life through the treasure of your children. God knows what He is doing!
9. Isaiah 44:24 – The Lord, the Maker of All Things, Has Formed You In the Womb
“This is what the Lord says— your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens,
who spreads out the earth by myself,”
Let us take a few moments to ponder the inconceivable works of the Lord our God. He is the Maker of all things above the earth, the earth itself, and all things under the earth. Every atom in the universe and every star in the sky and every galaxy in the heavens was first spoken into existence by the Lord above, the Most High God, Creator of all things. He spread out the earth into multiple landmasses, creating the continents and the oceans between. He then divided the continents into countries, which would be filled by peoples of varying tribes and nationalities.
As if this were not enough to cause us to worship the Lord, He also created every living thing from the smallest bacterium to the tigers and elephants to the largest blue whale careening through the ocean water. Additionally, the Lord God formed each of us in our mother’s womb. He knit us together in those secret inner places, forming ten fingers and ten toes and a strong beating heart and two lungs that inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. How miraculous is that! God doesn’t need any instructions on genetics or cellular division or renal filtration. He is the one that created all of these processes to work in perfect synchrony in order to sustain human life. And then, He was not done yet…He gives each of us a personality, specific passions and talents, and a tendency toward the expression of specific emotions. God has made your special needs’ child just exactly the way they are with divine purpose for a heavenly cause. Wow! Isn’t our God great and marvelous?
When I contemplate the miraculous complexity of life, I cannot help but worship God for the loving, divine, exceptional, incomprehensible Lord of my life and of all creation that He is. In light of how holy and righteous and miraculous He is, can you imagine that He also loves us even when we reject Him and He forgives us even when we continually disobey His exact commands? But He reminds us right here that He is also our Redeemer– He has freed us from the penalty of our sins because of the blood Jesus shed on the cross for us. Hallelujah! We are created and formed, loved, redeemed, renewed, and revived all because of the great love and compassion God has for us. Allow your child to see you rejoicing at the awe-inspiring, inconceivable, miraculous acts the Lord has done in your life, including giving you the amazing gift of a beloved and very special child.
Bible Verses About Caring for Others – Loving Your Special Needs Children Unconditionally
10. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 – Love Always Protects, Trusts, Hopes, Always Perseveres
Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.
It is generally accepted that a child should be loved by his or her parents, but sometimes it can be really challenging to determine what true love is supposed to look like. When we look at Christ’s love for us, it can be concluded that it is unconditional, redemptive, everlasting, unchanging, steadfast, gracious, merciful, and faithful. This seems a lot to live up to!
Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians provides some additional guidance as to what true godly love looks like when it defines love as patient, kind, the absence of envy, not boastful, and lacking pride. He continues to describe it as never dishonoring others, not being self-seeking, not becoming angered, and keeping no record of wrongs. We are reminded that love never delights in evil but rejoices in truth. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, and never fails. These characteristics provide just a glimpse of God’s definition of love, which can be a helpful guide in specific situations.
However, as you care for your special needs’ child there will always be unexpected conversations or situations that arise for which you must respond or make a decision. Remember the ways that you have experienced God’s unconditional and everlasting love and consider the ways that you can exemplify that same patient and enduring love to your child even when your nerves are raw and you feel angry or frustrated. I love the last line of the verses above where it states that love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. If you can keep these verb definitions at the forefront of your mind when considering how best to love others in your life, everything else will fall into place.
Also note that it is unlikely that you will respond to every single argument or discussion with your child perfectly, and God is big enough to supply plenty of grace and mercy for the things you do well or imperfectly. However, your child will know without a shadow of a doubt if they experience your love on a regular basis. If you make an effort to prioritize your child’s needs and spend time loving and adoring them, it will be evident not only to your child but to all with whom your child interacts. God will help you display unconditional love if you ask for His guidance and He will make the way clear as to how best to love and nurture your child. May God be glorified!
11. Philippians 2:1-4 – Have the Same Love as Christ and In Humility Value Others Above Yourselves
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,
if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit,
if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded,
having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
All those of us who are in Christ Jesus have undoubtedly experienced great comfort from His love and compassion from sharing in the Spirit, so we are instructed to have the same love of Christ and being unified in mind and spirit. Part of this command leads toward sharing with others the everlasting love of Christ as we live our lives. Paul indicates that unity through our spirits and minds is part of what it means to love each other throughout our lives, but we are also called to love our children and our friends unconditionally and steadfastly by the faith that dwells within.
We are reminded that God’s love means doing nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. This is often hard for us to embrace since our flesh is constantly tempting us to act out of pride and self-interest. However, as you are raising your special needs’ child, make a special effort to place a high priority on humbling yourself and placing the needs and interests of your child higher than your own. Whether that means cooking your child’s favorite meal or spending time together at the bowling alley or letting your child pick the family movie for the night, valuing your child above your own desires may look differently.
Seek God’s help for the strength and insight to actually incorporate a substantial amount of humility into your life. In those moments when you are feeling exasperated and need a little inspiration, think about the ways that Jesus our Messiah willingly gave up His home in heaven to hear James and John argue about who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is the ultimate role model of someone being able to embrace humility as He loved, taught, and redeemed by His blood those whom He cared so much about.
May remembering Christ’s example as He walked on this earth among us teach you various approaches to loving your child and placing the desires of your child prior to your personal preferences. Walking in humility takes constant wisdom and discernment, but the effort will produce an ability to love others in your life in ways you never imagined possible. May the love you have received from God enable you to pour this same love and humility into others hearts and souls as you delight in making sacrifices for others. Don’t ever forget how high and deep and wide is the love of Christ!
12. Ephesians 3:16-19 – May You Be Rooted and Established in Love, Filled to the Fullness of God
I pray that out of His glorious riches
He may strengthen you with power
through His Spirit in your inner being,
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,
may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people,
to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—
that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
As you strive to root and establish your own life in faith in Christ, may the love and power and glory that accompanies your life in Christ fully embrace your child with the love and delight of God, so that your child may always be confident in the love and infinite worth by which he or she is immersed. The love a parent has for a child is infinite and limitless, and I hope your child is immensely comforted by the height and width and length and depth of the love of Christ that you reflect into his or her life.
Raising a child is both a profound honor and a tremendous responsibility and you will not be very successful at doing it well unless you are strengthened through the power of the Holy Spirit living within you and the deep love of Christ by which your life is established. Take hold of the power, love, joy, peace, and grace that God provides each day in order to victoriously overcome every challenge you will face as the parent of a special needs’ child. God has specifically chosen you to raise your child and He will equip and empower you with everything you need. You are so blessed by God!
Sometimes it is easy to get overwhelmed with tasks, decisions, and nurturing the mind and emotions of a child in your life, but this verse in Ephesians proclaims that you possess a love that surpasses all knowledge to the point that you are filled to the measure of the fullness of God. Can you imagine that? You have so much love within you that it completely fills up the fullness of God.
I am awestruck so often at the extravagance with which God provides for our wants and needs. He is such a compassionate God that He knows exactly how much love you need to pour the everlasting love of God into your child and to still have the abundance of Christ dwell in your heart through faith. May you be strengthened by faith each morning as the Holy Spirit empowers you to live each moment of your life through grace and strength as you glorify God in your life, and may the love of Christ dwell in your inner being and flow with abundance from your life as it touches the lives of your family and friends, drawing them closer into His presence. The extravagant love of Christ never ceases!
Bible Verses About the Power of the Holy Spirit – Seeing Every Form of Disability in God’s Eyes
13. 1 Corinthians 12:15-20 – God Has Placed the Parts in the Body Just As He Wanted
Now if the foot should say,
“Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,”
it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
And if the ear should say,
“Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,”
it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.
If the whole body were an eye,
where would the sense of hearing be?
If the whole body were an ear,
where would the sense of smell be?
But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body,
every one of them, just as He wanted them to be.
If they were all one part, where would the body be?
As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
As you journey through this life doing your best to love and care for your special needs’ child (or children), it is natural to wonder how God views those with disabilities or special needs. We see God’s compassion for those who are blind, deaf, mute, or paralyzed demonstrated throughout both the Old and New Testaments, but one of my favorite sections of Scripture that relates to those with special physical or developmental needs is found in 1 Corinthians when Paul is explaining the role each of us play as members of the body of Christ.
Just as not everyone who is a member of the Christian church can be a teacher, or an accountant, or a doctor, or a pastor, those with special needs still have specific areas in which they are exceptionally talented or gifted. Someone whom our society considers to be disabled may have a special talent for expressing thoughts in words as an author or someone who is wheelchair-bound may have an exceptional talent for identifying the emotions someone is feeling and drawing that person into a compassionate conversation that allows them to feel welcomed and valued.
God places incredible value, worth, and significance on the life of every human being, regardless of what the passions and talents of a person may be. Paul indicates in this passage how ridiculous it would be if a hand or an ear would claim not to be part of the human body just because it wasn’t identified as a different part of the body, such as an eye. If all the parts of the body performed the same function, such as if everyone was an eye, how would the body complete all the tasks necessary for everyday life.
Instead, God has placed all the parts of the body, including those with special physical or developmental needs, just as He wanted them to be. God wants those with disabilities to contribute to the full body of Christ with a critical sense of importance just as other members of the body who may excel in academics or in a different type of career. The individual with multiple doctoral degrees is of no more intrinsic value as a child of God than is the individual with special needs who struggled to make it through elementary school.
Your child with special needs is incredibly precious to God and is much beloved by Him. This child has an incredibly important role to fulfill in living out specific functions of the body of Christ that will reflect God’s love and His message of grace and mercy to a world desperately in need of God’s intervention. Sometimes those with disabilities are able to communicate this message in an even simpler, more direct, and more poignant manner that more effectively causes humans to submit their lives to Christ.
The most critical goal of our life as Christians is not demonstrating how smart we are as individuals, but seeing lives transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those with special needs can accomplish this goal just as effectively, if not more so, as other Christians who belong to the body of Christ. God sees your children for who they really are and treasures every part of their life. May we raise children who fall in love with Jesus above all other things.
14. Luke 14:12-14 – Invite the Poor, Crippled, Lame, and Blind To Your Banquet
Then Jesus said to His host,
“When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends,
your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors;
if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.
Although they cannot repay you,
you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
As Jesus was teaching His disciples how to follow Him and live righteously, He specifically promotes the importance of including the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind at the parties and banquets that are being held. Jesus is trying to expand the understanding of His followers of what true hospitality and genuine generosity looks like in everyday life as He conveys the deep love and compassion that He has for those who are needy and disadvantaged.
In the example Jesus gives in Luke 14, He instructs people who are giving a banquet at a lunch or dinner with honored guests to not only invite one’s friends, close family, or rich neighbors. Jesus implies that if you limit your guests to the aforementioned type of people, they indeed may invite you to a party or banquet in return and your favor will be repaid. However, it is God’s will that you also extend an invitation to your celebration to the poor, the crippled or paralyzed, the lame, and the blind. God highly esteems these individuals and you will be blessed by God for inviting them as your honored guests. Although they may not be able to return the favor and repay you with a similar invitation, God will see the good that you have done and you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
Although this passage is definitely intended to communicate God’s esteemed view of hospitality and generosity in the life of the believer, it also speaks volumes on the intrinsic worth and significance in God’s eyes of the life of an individual with special needs. God obviously views the disabled as having special importance or Jesus would not be encouraging His believers to invite them to their parties and banquets. Even though someone who is crippled might not be able to financially pay back someone by inviting them to an elegant meal or party, God promises that He will personally pay back the host at the resurrection, further emphasizing the divine significance of welcoming the poor, disabled, blind, and lame onto the guest list for the banquet.
Christ Jesus has a special place in His heart for the least of these in our society. He did not just command His disciples to invite anyone off the streets to come in and join them for the grand celebration at the lunch or dinner banquet. Instead, He makes a special point to direct them to invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind into the banquet, which highlights the tender love that God and Jesus specifically have for those that struggle with these calamities. God will provide for our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs when we come to Him and ask for His help. He demonstrates over and over again what a generous, loving, hospitable, and merciful God He is both toward those with special needs and toward those who are diligently trying to care for them. Call upon the compassionate mercies of our God!
15. Leviticus 19:14-15 – Do Not Curse Disabled or Cause Them To Stumble Says The Lord
“‘Do not curse the deaf
or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,
but fear your God.
I am the Lord.
Do not pervert justice;
do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great,
but judge your neighbor fairly.’”
As a parent of a special needs’ child you are probably very passionate about communicating with others about the particular issues that those with disabilities face during the course of their lifetime. God is also very sensitive to the particular challenges and life circumstances that someone with special needs encounters during their daily lives. Not only did Jesus seem to seek out individuals with physical and emotional disabilities while He walked among us, but God has been advocating for those with disabilities ever since He first called Israel to become His chosen people among all the other nations on the face of the earth.
Early on when God was laying down some of the most basic laws and guidelines to Moses that He wanted the Israelites to follow in order to identify themselves as His special holy people, God specifically told them not to curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind. The God of Israel was very compassionate and had a tender heart toward those with special needs and He wanted to do everything possible to protect them from harm’s way as the Israelites were learning how to walk with God as His chosen people.
God tells the people of Israel to fear God and not to pervert justice, indicating how important it was for these people to treat those with disabilities fairly and with justice. God implies that the Israelites will face the wrath of God if they curse the deaf or cause a blind man to stumble. God will not tolerate favoritism among His people and He wants each person to defend the cause of justice when dealing with his or her neighbor. In this way, the characteristics of God will also be promoted among the Israelites as the people of God and they will become known as a people who defend the cause of the needy and uphold the rights of those with disabilities.
As a parent of special needs’ children, doesn’t it encourage you to know how gracious and compassionate the Lord God is toward your children and how important it is to God to defend the rights of your children with special needs? Sometimes it can get overwhelming to constantly be looking out for and defending your special needs’ child, but please be completely confident that God cares infinitely for your child and He is advocating for both you and your child every step along the way. He will never ever abandon you or leave you to bear this burden on your own. He loves you and your special needs’ child with an everlasting, steadfast love and He will always be right there to fight those battles on your behalf.
God is walking this journey of faith with you and He wants to make sure that your special needs’ child never stumbles along the path. Instead God wants to ensure that your child experiences overwhelming love, affirmation, confidence, and deep enduring joy through their faith in Christ. What an awesome God we serve!
Encouraging Bible Verses About Healing Miracles – Lame Walking, Blind Seeing, Mute Speaking
16. Matthew 9:5-8 – The Son of Man, Jesus, Has Authority to Forgive Sins and Heal Paralyzed
“Which is easier: to say, ‘
Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?
But I want you to know that
the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
So He said to the paralyzed man,
“Get up, take your mat and go home.”
Then the man got up and went home.
When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe;
and they praised God, who had given such authority to man.
While God is undoubtedly very compassionate and tender-hearted toward those who are physically, mentally, or emotionally disabled in some way, He also provides us with numerous examples in the New Testament of instances in which He performed healing miracles in the lives of those with special needs. Never underestimate the power of what God may be longing to accomplish in the life of your special needs’ child. Healing can be manifested in a number of different ways, so give God permission to touch your child and bring forth healing in whatever manner that God decides is best.
In this story in Matthew 9, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that He has all authority to both forgive sins and command the man to stand up and walk. In order to demonstrate this, He commands the paralyzed man to get up and go home, which the man subsequently accomplishes. The most important part of this story is that upon seeing the man walk home, the crowd praises God for giving such authority to Jesus to allow this paralyzed man to walk. Whether your child is able to sleep through the night or has an abnormal gait that is suddenly healed in physical therapy, make sure to give all praise to God for the miracles He is doing in the life of your child.
One of the most important factors in seeing God demonstrate His healing mercies in the life of someone you love is your ability to trust that God is good and that He always has the best interest of you or your loved one in mind. If we go back to the beginning of this story, it was upon seeing the deep faith of the friends who brought this paralytic to Jesus that first motivated Him to declare that the man’s sins were forgiven. Do not give up on the healing you long to see, but continue to have faith in God and trust in His ability to heal the special needs of your child at any moment in time. God always follows through on His promises, but the healing may look differently than you were expecting.
Ultimately things will happen in a way that gives the most praise to God possible and maximizes the glory that God will receive. However the healing comes, it will be a huge blessing to both you and your child and it will signify an outpouring of God’s deep love for both of you. God is good all the time and He will never stop loving us in ways beyond which we could ever imagine.
17. Matthew 15:29-32 – Jesus Healed the Lame, the Blind, the Crippled, the Mute, and Many Others
Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee.
Then He went up on a mountainside and sat down.
Great crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind,
the crippled, the mute and many others,
and laid them at His feet; and He healed them.
The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing.
And they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus called His disciples to Him and said,
“I have compassion for these people;
Jesus walked among the people wherever He went, teaching and telling stories, ministering to all who came to Him in order that He could shine the light of His Father’s glory wherever He went. However, He definitely had a special tenderness in His heart for those who were disabled or had special mental or emotional needs. Here we see a time during Jesus’ ministry in which He sat down on a mountainside near the Sea of Galilee and great crowds approached Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, and the mute (among many others) to Jesus. Although Jesus could have turned them away, instead we are told that He healed all of them.
Jesus had great compassion upon these people with special needs and He welcomed them into His presence and then took the time to touch each of their lives and healed them. He felt a great love for these people, had a gentleness and tenderness in His heart for them, was immensely patient with each person, and then healed each and every one of them. The crowds were amazed as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. As all those on the mountainside witnessed these remarkable miracles, they praised the God of Israel for these supernatural healings that were taking place in front of their eyes.
The amazing thing to me is that Jesus did not just stop with these phenomenal healing miracles, but He wanted to make sure all of their needs were provided for. He noted that these crowds had been following Him for three days without any food and He did not want to send them away until they had been given something to eat. He instructed the disciples to take seven loaves and a few fishes that were gathered and they fed all 4,000 people with more than seven basketfuls of food left over. Jesus has a special love and compassion for you who are caring for children with special needs. God is more than capable of providing for every need and desire that you have as a parent of a special needs’ child, so do not hesitate to bring your requests before His throne.
Whether you need a little extra patience in order to speak to your child with God’s steadfast love or whether you long for your child to be able to develop some additional friendships with peers or whether you just need your monthly budget to stretch a little further this month, God knows exactly what you require in order to be the best parent you can be so don’t hesitate to ask for a little help when you need it. We serve an abundant God who is capable of providing immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us, so let us exalt and glorify God as we watch Him provide more than enough for all of our needs.
18. John 9:1-7 – Jesus Heals Blind Man After Declaring Neither He or His Parents Sinned
As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked Him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus,
“but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent Me.
Night is coming, when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
After saying this, He spit on the ground,
made some mud with the saliva,
and put it on the man’s eyes.
“Go,” He told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”).
So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
Sometimes as a parent of a child with special needs, it can be easy to start asking why God allowed your child to develop special challenges or obstacles in their lives that makes life harder for your child. First of all, it is not our role to try to understand the mind of God as Creator of the entire universe. There are things about life that I will never be privileged to understand because I am not God, nor do I want the responsibility that God has for making all the decisions that allow life to flow smoothly on a daily basis.
In this story about a blind man in the Bible, Jesus clearly explains to His disciples that the fact that this man was born blind was definitely not caused by any sin that was committed by the man or his parents. The blindness in the man was not caused by anything the man or his family members had done–whether good or bad. Instead, Jesus explains that this man’s blindness happened so that the works of God might be displayed in Him. This puts a whole different perspective on the trials and tribulations that we encounter in life. Instead of viewing a challenging life circumstance as punishment, perhaps in God’s mercy He has allowed us to encounter difficulties in order to reveal the mighty hand of God at work in our lives. May God be magnificently glorified through our challenges, the difficult life circumstances, and the special needs or physical suffering we endure throughout the context of our lives.
In this story, Jesus follows up His teaching to the disciples with a compassionate act of healing for the blind man. After Jesus spit in the ground and applied some mud to his eyes the man obeyed instructions to wash in the Pool of Siloam and came home seeing. Praise God! Whether or not God takes away the disability from the life of your child with special needs, perhaps God will use the tender, simple heart of your child to lead many people to faith in Christ. What a precious gift that would be! Maybe your child will have a special ability to see God’s hand in creation or to hear the voice of God in activities of daily living. Regardless of how society views your child, know that this child is beloved, honored, precious, redeemed, a delight, and a source of great joy to the Most High God, King of Creation, Glorious Redeemer.
May you remind your child each and every day how deeply loved he or she is by you and by God. Speak of how greatly valued your child is to God and how much God absolutely delights in his or her life. God has a special and highly honored purpose in mind for the life of your special needs’ child and He will walk with your child, spending time with both you and your child, as you seek to live first for the kingdom of God each and every day. To God be the glory!
Scriptures on how Christ Jesus Chose the Foolish Things of the World to Shame the Wise
19. 1 Corinthians 1:19-21,25 – Foolishness of God Is Wiser Than Human Wisdom
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise person?
Where is the teacher of the law?
Where is the philosopher of this age?
Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him,
God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
God views wisdom and knowledge from a much different perspective than we humans perceive these things. Since the beginning of time, humans have tried to increase their knowledge by enlarging the number of facts that they understand. However, in the above verses in 1 Corinthians, God says that He “will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” So what does it truly mean to be wise in the eyes of God? This Scripture passage says that God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what was preached. Therefore, wisdom in God’s eyes is based on those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, surrendering their lives into His hands.
The truth is that God uses the foolish things of this world to shame the intelligent and those who are considered to be wise based on human wisdom. Even if your child with special needs struggles to learn book knowledge or math concepts, God will honor your child with godly wisdom and strength if that child accepts Christ as Lord and lives based on the promises of God each day. A person surrendered to the Spirit of God is much more esteemed in God’s eyes than someone that can quote every mathematical formula and piece of scientific data known to man. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, for a person with the highest paying job who does not know God will not go anywhere in this life and will amount to nothing.
For this reason, it is far better to have a heart and soul willing to submit to the things of God than to have a brilliant mind that can understand huge amounts of human knowledge. In this way, children with special needs often have an advantage because they do not have the same intellectual barriers that cause a person to trust in oneself rather than trusting and having faith in God. As a parent of a child with physical, mental, emotional, or developmental disabilities, take every opportunity to show your child how God is involved in his or her life through the natural world such as is evidenced by the mountains and oceans and rivers and flowers and waterfalls and more. Also teach your child how God has demonstrated grace and mercy in your life and in the life of your child. Point out ways that God’s immense love and exquisite joy has penetrated your experience of life each day, and teach your special needs’ child how to worship God and live with a heart filled with gratitude to God each day.
There are so many ways that God’s wisdom and grace can penetrate the heart of your special needs’ child. Encourage your child to value the ways God is touching his or her heart that do not depend on human intellectual knowledge. Praise God for the way He is transforming your child’s heart, soul, and spirit each day.
20. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 – Paul Desired That Faith Would Not Rest on Human Wisdom, but On God’s Power
And so it was with me, brothers and sisters.
When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom
as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you
except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.
My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,
but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
Even though Paul had advanced educational training, he emphasizes here to the Corinthians that he came to them not with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power. Paul did not want their faith to depend on human wisdom but to rest on God’s power. I believe this teaching is incredibly encouraging and empowering for anyone with a special needs’ child or any individual who has ever struggled even slightly with speaking eloquently or being able to rely on a strong memory.
This teaching emphasizes the importance of the Holy Spirit powerfully at work within each one of us as believers to give us the right words to say or to invite God’s presence to dwell among those to whom we are speaking. The amazing part about learning to become more dependent on the Spirit’s power is that it completely frees us from bearing the responsibility of having to use the perfect words or saying things with eloquent wisdom. When our message is communicated through the power of the Holy Spirit at work within us, it does not depend on us. It does not depend on our brain’s ability to manufacture the right words and it does not depend on our emotions, such as if we suddenly get nervous or anxious or scared, and it does not depend on the life circumstances we are facing at that moment.
As a parent of a special needs child, you should be encouraged to think that your child has just as much potential to demonstrate the power of the Holy Spirit in their life as does any other person. If it does not depend on a person’s intellectual abilities or emotional wisdom or the life circumstances currently being experienced, then a special needs child is not disadvantaged at all in comparison to others when it comes to communicating God’s message or demonstrating godly wisdom to others. In fact, I think that those with disabilities are often more amenable to experiencing God’s power at work within their spirits because of their willingness to admit times when they need help or acknowledge they do not have all the answers. As a parent of a disabled child, it is important to nurture those times when God is demonstrating His power, His voice, His special touch in the life of your very special child.
Allow your child to experience how precious and beloved he or she is to God and continually remind your child that no matter what abilities he or she has or does not have, God has an extremely important purpose and plan in mind for your child’s life. Pray that despite whatever obstacles your child faces in his or her life that your child will experience a powerful demonstration of spiritual power through his or her life and that your child’s faith in Christ will exponentially increase each day of his or her life. May your child experience the wisdom of God through faith!
21. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 – Paul Claims That When He Is Weak, Then He Is Strong
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.
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.
Although the world tells us that we need to boast about our strengths and overcome all of our weaknesses, this is not the life philosophy that Paul is communicating to his followers in this passage of Scripture. He highlights an unnamed thorn in his flesh that forced him to depend even more so on God’s strength to sustain him. God personally reassured Paul that His divine grace was sufficient to provide for all of his needs and reminded this notable servant of the Lord that God’s Almighty power is made perfect in our weakness. This is what led Paul to conclude that he could delight in his own weaknesses, in hardships, in difficulties, and in trials and tribulations because when he was weak, God’s grace and His divine strength was even more evident in his life which allowed God to get all the praise and glory from his life.
God’s grace is also more than sufficient to provide you as a parent of a special needs child with everything you need to raise your child well and enjoy life with your child as you embrace the journey together. Any weaknesses or difficulties that you encounter along your parenting adventure are actually privileges given in order to more readily highlight the beautiful all-sufficiency of God’s strength and power and grace in your life and that of your child. May God be glorified in your lives when you both realize how desperately you need God’s help to allow you to successfully make it to the finish line of your lives.
God is so pleased to get the opportunity to reach down and carry you so that you can finish the race, taking as many people with you as is possible as you shine the light of Christ into the world around you. God delights to demonstrate to us as His children how strong, powerful, mighty, capable, and joyously willing to help us through life’s most challenging moments. The sooner we are able to truly surrender our entire lives to God and His will for our lives, the more enjoyable our journey through life will be. As a parent of a special needs’ child you will have plenty of opportunities to reach out and rely on God for strength and wisdom and insight.
Take advantage of these opportunities to see God accomplish great and mighty things in the life of your family, and resist the urge to try to bear these burdens alone or to carry the heavy weights you encounter on your own shoulders without any help. God’s grace is all you need to make it through each day.