35 Comforting Bible Verses for Healing and Strength

Living with a debilitating chronic illness means that I can’t get off the couch some days without feeling overwhelmingly dizzy. On those hard days, I often long for a bit of encouragement, hope, and strength to get through it.  

One day, I decided to search the Bible because I wanted to know what is a good Bible verse for healing?  

I wondered if there was a scripture that addressed healing while also providing the inspiration I desperately needed. And I actually found quite a few verses.  

As it turns out the Bible has a lot to say about healing. 

Bible Verses on Healing

The following bible verses for the sick are great reminders to lean on God for healing. And to remember that Jesus’s death on the cross paved the way for our ultimate healing. 

They can be shared with others, or used for your own comfort. You can also use these Scripture passages as a guide to praying for healing.

1) “Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”

-Jeremiah 17:14 ESV

2) “For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, . . .”

-Jeremiah 30:17 ESV

3) “You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back.”

-Isaiah 38:16b-17 NIV

4) “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”   

-James 5:14-15 ESV

5) “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

-James 5:16 NIV

6) “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

-1 Peter 2:24 NIV

7) “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

-Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV

Psalms on Healing

Since I love the psalms because of their blatant honesty (they display the whole array of human emotions), I decided to search for a Psalm I could read on healing. Because living with a chronic illness is hard and on the rough days, I need encouragement.

It is my prayer these passages of God’s Word from the Psalms will inspire you as much as they have encouraged me.  

8) “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

-Psalm 73:26 NIV

9) “O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health.”

-Psalm 30:2 NLT

10) “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion . . .”

-Psalm 103:2-4 NIV

11) “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

-Psalm 147:3 NIV

12) “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.”

-Psalm 107:19-21 NLT

Bible Verses for Strength

When we are suffering from health issues, we often feel weak. The following bible verses about strength in hard times can encourage us to lean on God through our struggles.

And trust that He will be the strength we need to get through it all.  

13) “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

-Philippians 4:13 NIV

14) “Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.”

-Isaiah 33:2 NIV

15) “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.”

-Isaiah 40:29 NLT

16) “This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

-Nehemiah 8:10b NIV

17) “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 NIV

18) “The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”

-Exodus 15:2 NIV

19) “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

-Joshua 1:9 NIV

20) “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord   himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.”

-Isaiah 12:2 NIV

21) “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.”

-2 Corinthians 12:10 NIV

22) “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”

-2 Thessalonians 3:3 NIV

23) “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” 

-1 Chronicles 16:11 NIV

24) “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”

-Habakkuk 3:19 NIV

25) “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.”

-Psalm 46:1-3 NIV

Bible Verses for Encouragement

One of the things we need most when we are in a difficult season of suffering is to be encouraged. Reading God’s Word is how we get closer to Him and find comfort on our hard days.

The following scripture passages are great verses to cling to when our health is failing. Write down your favorites on notecards and put them up around your house to remind you to keep going to God when life is hard.  

26) “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

-Philippians 4:19 NIV

27) “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

-John 14:27 NLT

28) “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

-Psalm 34:17-18 NIV

29) “’Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.’ You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy . . .”

-Psalm 30:10-11 NIV

30) “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

-John 16:33 NLT

31) “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

-2 Corinthians 1:8-9 NIV

Bible Verses About Hope

It’s a lot easier to get through the difficult moments of today when we know we have something better to look forward to. The following scriptures remind us that life won’t always be this way.  

Because of Jesus, we have a hope that no one can take away.  

32) “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.”

-Revelation 21:4 NIV

33) “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.”

-1 Peter 5:10 NIV

34) “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” 

-Matthew 11:28-30 NLT

35) “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”

-Psalm 27:1 NIV

I pray these Bible verses for healing and strength have encouraged you in your faith today. May God continue to draw you close to Him and guide you as you lean on Him.  

If you found this encouraging, then please share! 

Find more encouragement here:

• 50 Encouraging Verses on Suffering
• 26 Motivating Bible Verses on Prayer and Faith
• Coping with Chronic Illness: 7 Ways to Thrive with Christ