5 Bible Verses for Strength and Healing
We watch chickadees flutter above the deck, and the snow melts all over again for the sixth time this winter. Just when we start to believe things are looking warmer, a bitter north wind descends and everything alive turns back to ice again. I open my Bible in search of Bible verses for strength and healing at the end of this long season.
5 Bible Verses for Strength and Healing
The storms just keep rolling in, one right after another, and I wrap our little boy in a blanket on my lap as we watch the chickadees out the window.
I find that in winter, I like to place my hope in the promise that spring will come again. I like to dream of warmer days and children splashing in baby pools and the sun darkening my ashen skin as we rest on the sandy bank of a creek somewhere.
When life is hard, it’s tempting to put our hope in the light at the end of the tunnel.
It’s tempting to close our eyes and dream of a different season when the cares of today are washed away.
It’s tempting to put all of our hope in the coming day when the painful diagnosis is reversed, the broken relationship is restored, the grief finally lifts, or the crisis passes.
Watching the chickadees, I’m reminded that my hope doesn’t rest in the promise that my circumstances will improve.
Circumstances might improve, but there aren’t any promises that things will turn out exactly as we hope. Our hope doesn’t rest in the promise that vacation will be refreshing, winter will turn to blissful spring, or wrongs will be made right in this lifetime. Hope rests in this: Jesus has promised that he will be with us always (Matthew 28:20). #hopeinJesus #defeatingfear Click To Tweet
Hope built solely upon improved circumstances is likely to become hope deferred. The hope that anchors me is the fact that Jesus is with me in the winter seasons of my life just as he is with me in the warm season of summer. He is with us in the sorrow, the uncertainty, and the fear, and he is with us in the joy, the celebration, and the victory.
Jesus Is Our Strength
Our circumstances might improve.
But if they don’t, we hold onto hope when we cling to the One who promises to walk with us through it all.
We let the hard times come and refuse to be offended that he permitted the hard times, we trust that he really won’t leave us, and we believe he’ll use the winter seasons to make us more like him.
When we’re not certain of where to turn amid the winter storms, he invites us to find shelter in the comfort of his wings. In the shadow of his wings, we find refuge, kindness, love, security, protection, and joy. Yes, even joy.
It has been said that it is far easier to replace a negative emotion with a truth than to simply cast it out and leave vacant space. As we cast out fear and make room for hope, let’s explore what this might look like on a practical level. Let’s soak in five powerful Bible verses for strength and healing.
5 Powerful Bible Verses for Strength and Healing
1. Psalm 57:1
Psalm 57:1 reads, “Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by.”
Imagine a baby bird curled up in the shelter of its mother’s wings. There is no fear in this place.
We begin our journey into strength and healing when we run to the embrace of our heavenly Father. He promises to offer refuge in the shelter of his wings.
2. Psalm 36:7
Psalm 36:7 reads, “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.”
What do we find in the shelter of God’s wings? We find lovingkindness. Lovingkindness is God’s tender love in action. For strength and healing, run toward God’s love.
God is on the move in your life. He wants you to see his love in action as it unfolds around you: in the kindness of a stranger or friend, in the beauty of a sunrise, in the gentle whisper of the wind, and perhaps most of all, in the promises of his written Word.
3. Psalm 17:8
Psalm 17:8 reads, “Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings.” Find your identity here when the storms of life arise.
Beneath the shelter of God’s wings, we find security. We find a safe place to fall. We also find our identities.
You are the apple of God’s eye. You are his beloved child and his precious possession. No evil will befall you outside God’s gaze. Find strength and healing here.
4. Psalm 91:4
Psalm 91:4 reads, “He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.”
Have you ever felt like you needed a shield from the world around you or even a shield from your own ruminating thoughts? Run to Jesus for strength. He will be your shield. 
5. Psalm 63:7
Psalm 63:7 reads, “For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy.”
Joy and fear cannot abide in the same space.
Run to the arms of God, and you will find hope, peace, and comfort, but you will also find joy.
You will find fruit that cannot be borne apart from God’s Spirit working through you. Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you. He will also produce the fruit of joy in your life. Furthermore, his joy will be the source of your strength (see Nehemiah 8:10). 
Winter carries on here, and the chickadees keep searching for food. We wrap ourselves in another blanket and claim the joy that comes when learn to rest in the shadow of his wings.
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