Bible verses · from RenounceBible verses for discouragement
Discouragement often arrives after a setback, when it feels as if all the progress was for nothing. The Bible does not scold discouraged people. It shows them talking to themselves and to God, and it shows God coming near. These verses come from the World English Bible. Pray the short prayer at the end.
Short answer
Psalm 42:5 shows how to answer your own discouragement.
The writer asks his own soul why it is in despair, and then tells it to hope in God, for he will yet praise him for the saving help of his presence. He does not pretend the feeling is absent. He answers it.
Psalm 42:5
Talk back to your soul
Psalm 42 is the cry of someone who feels far from God, and its refrain turns the question inward: why are you in despair, my soul, and why are you disturbed within me. Then comes an instruction: hope in God. The writer says he will still praise him.
He speaks to his feelings and does not only listen to them. It is one thing to feel discouraged and another to let the feeling be the only voice you hear. You can ask your discouragement what it is saying, and answer it with what God has said.
Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence.
Psalm 42:5
David strengthened himself
1 Samuel 30:6 describes David at a low point. His people are grieving their families, and they speak of stoning him. The text says that David strengthened himself in the LORD his God. He did not wait for someone else to lift him.
In Joshua 1:9 God tells Joshua, who is taking over from Moses, to be strong and courageous, not afraid or dismayed, because the LORD his God is with him wherever he goes. Psalm 31:24 says to be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the LORD. Each time the reason for courage is God's presence, and not the situation getting better.
David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the souls of all the people were grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
1 Samuel 30:6
Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9
Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who hope in the LORD.
Psalm 31:24
Near to the brokenhearted
Psalm 34:18 says the LORD is near to those who have a broken heart and saves those who have a crushed spirit. Psalm 147:3 says he heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds. In Isaiah 43 he speaks to a people who have been through hard times: do not be afraid, I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you.
The promise is his company in the water and the fire, not that you will never go through them. If you are discouraged after a fall, hear this part: nearness is promised to a crushed spirit, not to a spotless one.
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Psalm 34:18
He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
But now the LORD who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel, says: “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
Isaiah 43:1-2
The long view and the small day
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 that we do not faint, though the outward person is decaying, because the inward person is renewed day by day. He calls the present affliction light and for the moment next to an eternal weight of glory. Paul suffered a great deal, so light is not a dismissal of pain. It is a comparison.
Zechariah 4:10 asks who despises the day of small things. The question suggests that small beginnings are not to be despised. Quiet days of prayer and clean choices count. Renounce's streak, clean nights and daily missions keep those small steps in view.
Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward person is decaying, yet our inward person is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Indeed, who despises the day of small things? For these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These are the LORD’s eyes, which run back and forth through the whole earth.
Zechariah 4:10
- Write down one thing from this week that was a real step, however small.
- If discouragement turns into thoughts of ending your life, call or text 988 in the United States, or your local emergency number, and tell someone near you tonight.
A prayer for a discouraged day
Lord, I am discouraged, and I will tell you so. Come near to me. Strengthen me as you strengthened David, and teach me to hope in you when my own voice says there is no point. Help me take one small step today. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about discouragement?
It shows people talking to their own soul (Psalm 42:5), strengthening themselves in the LORD (1 Samuel 30:6) and finding God near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18).
Is it a sin to be discouraged?
The Bible does not call it one. The writer of Psalm 42 and David (1 Samuel 30:6) were discouraged, and the text shows God meeting them.
What should I do after a setback?
Tell God and a friend, log the return, and begin again today. Lamentations 3:22-23 says his mercies are new every morning.
How do I encourage myself like David?
He strengthened himself in the LORD. Pray, read a verse aloud and remember what God has done.
When is discouragement more than discouragement?
If it lasts for weeks or you cannot function, talk to a doctor or counselor. If you ever feel you cannot go on, call or text 988 in the United States, or your local emergency number, and tell someone near you tonight.
Sources
Checked on October 1, 2026.
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