Friend, has your broken, grieving heart left you feeling fragile and fearful?
If it has, that would make perfect sense to me. When our heart has been broken, our whole being is affected—mind, body, and soul. Our hopes and dreams may feel shattered…our life in pieces. It’s only natural, in our unique grief and loss, to feel uniquely weak and fearful. In addition to needing comfort and hope, we need strength.
At least I did.
In the months waiting for my baby to die, I felt incredibly sad, scared, and in need of God’s help basically all the time. And yet I remember people saying to me on multiple occasions, “You seem so strong.” I would be completely taken aback: how could I possibly appear strong when I felt so weak?
It made no sense.
But if you know Jesus, you know he’s not really about making sense; he’s more about making a way.
At some point I realized God’s strength was shining through my brokenness: Christ’s power, as the Bible says, was resting on me (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). I had become living proof of Jesus’s words: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Those who had seen strength in me had actually seen the grace of God, the power of Christ.
My part had truly and only been my weakness.
Experiencing Jesus’s grace helped me understand an encouraging truth I would cling to the rest of my grief—and the rest of my life: “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (verse 10). More words that without Jesus wouldn’t make sense.
But Jesus changes everything. And his grace would continue to be sufficient for my every need.
Friend, I pray this is encouraging news for you: Jesus’s grace really is enough to get you through this hour, this day, this year.
Your weakness and his power are a perfect match.
And if and when the time feels right, the following fortifying Scriptures will be here for you, too. Of course there are countless more verses in the Bible to provide you strength, but these are fourteen of my favorites. Underneath every Scripture, I have personalized a prayer for you to read or say aloud if you find that helpful.
Grieving heart, may you find strength in God’s unfailing love and Word…
1. JOSHUA 1:5-6… “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous….”
Dear God, thank you for being with me like you were with Moses; thank you for your promise to never leave me. Please help me be strong and courageous;
2. PSALM 28:6-7… “Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.”
LORD, thank you for hearing my cry. You are my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in you, and you help me;
3. PSALM 29:10-11… “The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever. The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.”
You, LORD, are King forever; you give strength to your people and bless your people with peace. Please give strength to me;
4. PSALM 46:1-3… “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
God, you are my refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore I will not fear;
5. PSALM 59:9… “You are my strength, I watch for you; you, God, are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely.”
You are my strength, God, I watch for you; on you, God, I can rely;
6. PSALM 73:23-26… “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory…. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Thank you, God, for always being with me. Thank you for holding my hand and guiding me with your counsel. You are the strength of my heart and my blessing forever;
7. PSALM 84:5-7… “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage…. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”
God, blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. Help me go from strength to strength, till I appear before you;
8. ISAIAH 12:2… “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”
Surely, God, you are my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. You, LORD, are my strength and my song; you have become my salvation;
9. ISAIAH 41:10… “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.”
Thank you, LORD, for being with me and being my God. Thank you for strengthening me and helping me—for upholding me with your righteous right hand;
10. ISAIAH 58:11… “The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
LORD, thank you for guiding me always…for satisfying my needs…and for strengthening my frame. I will be like a well-watered garden;
11. 2 CORINTHIANS 12:9-10… “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.”
Jesus, your grace is sufficient for me, for your power is made perfect in weakness. Would you please rest your power on me? Thank you that because of you, when I am weak, I am actually strong;
12. 2 TIMOTHY 1:7… “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”
God, you do not make me timid; rather, Holy Spirit, thank you for giving me power, love, and self-discipline;
13. 2 TIMOTHY 4:16-17… “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength….”
Lord Jesus, thank you that even when others desert me, you stand at my side and give me strength;
14. REVELATION 19:11… “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.”
Jesus, YOU are Faithful and True. You are already victorious…you are the ultimate strength…and you are my strength. Help me trust more and more in you. It’s in your Name I pray, amen.
If you would like to ponder a little more…
- If one of the Scriptures stands out to you as especially meaningful, write it out and place it somewhere you will see it often. Then say or sing it out loud—in whatever tune you want—as many times as you need or desire. Pretty soon, without even trying, you may realize you have memorized it.
- Read or say aloud or even write down all the personalized prayers under every Scripture as one big prayer. Then say or pray the whole prayer again whenever you need or want.
If focusing on these Scriptures is helpful to you…
…and you want more, you can find them in specific blog posts on hope, comfort, and God’s promises, too.
May God bless and strengthen you, friend, with the study of his Word.
