Bible verses · from RenounceBible verses for hope after failure, and the next day
After a relapse the question changes from why did I do that to is there any point in continuing. The Bible gives a clear answer to the second question. These passages from the World English Bible are about people who failed, sometimes badly, and were not finished. Read slowly, then pray the short prayer at the end.
Short answer
Micah 7:8 is a sentence you can say on the worst morning.
Do not rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me. It admits the fall and the darkness, and still says what happens next.
Micah 7:8
Falling is not the end of the story
Proverbs 24:16 says a righteous person falls seven times and rises up again. The mark of the righteous in that verse is not that they never fall but that they rise. Psalm 37:23-24 says a person's steps are established by the LORD, and that though he stumble he will not fall, because the LORD holds him up with his hand.
Psalm 145:14 adds a shorter line: the LORD upholds all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. All who fall includes you. Micah gives you the words: when I fall, I will arise.
for a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
Proverbs 24:16
A man’s steps are established by the LORD. He delights in his way. Though he stumble, he shall not fall, for the LORD holds him up with his hand.
Psalm 37:23-24
The LORD upholds all who fall, and raises up all those who are bowed down.
Psalm 145:14
Don’t rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me.
Micah 7:8
Mercies new every morning
Lamentations is a book of grief, and the writer in chapter 3 is still sitting in it: remember my affliction, my soul is bowed down. Then he says this I recall, therefore I have hope. The reason is the LORD's loving kindness, which never ends, and mercies that are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
Paul adds in Romans 5 that we have peace with God through faith and stand in grace. Suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character, character hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts. Paul says hard seasons can grow something good in a person, and that the hope at the end is anchored in God's love.
Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the bitterness. My soul still remembers them, and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope. It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:19-24
Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Romans 5:1-5
Peter, who failed badly
Peter denied Jesus three times. After the resurrection, Jesus asks him three times, do you love me? Each time Peter answers and each time Jesus gives him work: feed my lambs, tend my sheep. He does not bring up the denial as a reproach. He restores Peter to the place he had lost.
Paul, who had his own past, writes in Philippians 3 that he has not already arrived, but forgetting what lies behind and reaching toward what lies ahead, he presses on. Forgetting here means not letting the past set the direction.
So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
John 21:15-17
Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14
- Name one concrete step for today, even a small one.
- Tell one person that you are starting again.
Love that cannot be cut off
Romans 8:38-39 lists everything you might imagine could separate you from God, including death, life, powers and things present, and then says none of it, nor any created thing, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Your failure is a created thing too.
God says to the exiles in Jeremiah 29 that he knows his plans for them, plans for peace and a future and hope, and that when they seek him with all their heart they will find him. That was written to people in a hard place, who would wait many years. And Psalm 40 describes someone lifted from a pit and given a firm place to stand and a new song. If you are thinking of hurting yourself, call or text 988 in the United States, or your local emergency number.
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future. You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You shall seek me and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-13
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. I waited patiently for the LORD. He turned to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand. He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Psalm 40:1-3
A prayer to say with these verses
Lord, I fell, and I am getting up. Thank you that your mercies are new this morning. Hold me by the hand and set my feet on solid ground. Give me one step to take today. Do not let me believe that I am finished. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Is there hope after I relapse?
Yes. Proverbs 24:16 says the righteous fall seven times and rise again, and Lamentations 3:22-23 says the LORD's mercies are new every morning.
What does Jesus do for someone who has failed?
In John 21:15-17 he restores Peter after the denials by asking if he loves him and giving him work. Failure did not cancel his calling.
What does Romans 8:38-39 promise?
That nothing in all creation can separate you from God's love in Christ Jesus. A relapse is not an exception to that list.
How do I start again today?
Confess it (1 John 1:9), take one concrete step, and tell someone. Philippians 3:13-14 describes forgetting what is behind and pressing on.
What if I feel hopeless?
Tell a person today. In the United States you can call or text 988, or contact your local emergency number if you are in danger. Psalm 34:18 says the LORD is near to the broken-hearted.
Sources
Checked on October 1, 2026.
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See RenounceMore in Bible verses by topic
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- ShamePsalm 34:5 shows what God does with a face covered in shame.
- Strength in weakness2 Corinthians 12:9 is God's own answer to a person who asked to be freed.
- LonelinessDeuteronomy 31:8 is a promise made to a man about to lead without his teacher.
- Lust2 Timothy 2:22 is the clearest short verse to hold on to.
- Bible verses for temptationFree tool: Pick what you are facing (temptation, shame after a fall, anxiety, fatigue, late nights) and get a Bible verse with a short prayer. Free, no account.
