Pain is a persistent part of human life. Stories like the suffering of Job, David fleeing from Saul, the death of Lazarus and of course the passion of Christ provide examples of maintaining strong faith throughout painful circumstances. The New Testament also gives us a picture of the kind of pain the first believers in Christ faced through persecution. Today, through prophesies yet to be fulfilled, Scripture tells of the “labor pains” we are undergoing here on earth as the world turns a step closer each day toward Jesus’ return.
The following verses are a glimpse of the pain we read about in God’s Word. By meditating on these verses, we can find solidarity, inspiration, a healthy fear (reverence) for God, and a Savior who endured an insurmountable amount of it on our account. May these Bible verses about pain motivate, inspire, spark curiosity, and encourage.
We are never alone in our pain. God is Healer, and through He may not always will it, can miraculously heal us from pain. We learn and grow wiser through our painful moments, and will wear crowns in heaven for what we’ve suffered in His honor.
15 Bible Verses that Talk about Pain
“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
“Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.” - 1 Chronicles 4:10 NIV
“But as for me, afflicted and in pain- may your salvation, God, protect me.” - Psalm 69:29 NIV
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.” - Isaiah 53:3-4 NIV
“For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.” - 2 Corinthians 8:21 NIV
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” - Hebrews 12:11 NIV
“For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.” - 1 Peter 2:19 NIV
“Honest words can be painful, but what do your criticisms amount to?” - Job 6:25 NLT
“At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.” - Job 6:10 NLT
“I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way.” - 2 Corinthians 7:8-9 NLT
When people are saying, ‘Everything is peaceful and secure,’ then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:3 NLT
“Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.” - Hebrews 13:3 NLT
“Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins.” - Psalm 25:18 NLT
“Turn to me and have mercy, for I am alone and in deep distress. My problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all! Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins. See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me! Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge. May integrity and honest protect me, for I put my hope in you.” - Psalm 25:16-21 NLT
“A joyful heart makes the face cheerful, but by a painful heart the spirit it broken.” - Proverbs 15:13 NET
A Prayer for Painful Times:
Father,
Jesus is no stranger to pain, and you weep alongside us when our hearts are crushed. You are omnipotent, in complete control of the world and our lives, yet you allow us to choose and walk through painful moments in this life. We don’t always understand. Pain is not always fair. We pray to see and understand pain through your eyes, your heavenly purpose, and through the filter of your unchanging character. You are mighty to save! You are Healer, Savior, Creator, and our compassionate Father. Grow our hearts to know you more each day. Comfort us when the pain is so great that we can barely breathe. Be it physical or mental pain, sickness or weakness, we trust our lives to your capable hands. We know you’ll be with us through it all, and we offer our lives up to you at all times.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Quotes about Pain and Faith:
“God permits what he hates to accomplish what he loves.” – Joni Eareckson Tada
“If Jesus gives us a task or assigns us to a difficult season, every ounce of our experience is meant for our instruction and completion if only we'll let Him finish the work. I fear, however, that we are so attention-deficit that we settle for bearable when beauty is just around the corner.” - Beth Moore
“We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” - C.S. Lewis
“Pain is never pleasant, but nothing can compare to the pain of eternity without God. And so my pain today is a small glimpse of what I have been saved from. How much more can we grasp the beautiful and glorious promise of eternity with our Savior, free from pain, when we have a daily reminder of what we have been saved from? This truth of the gospel gives us a reason, purpose and hope to endure.” - Kristen Wetherell
“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken.” - C.S. Lewis
The most important thing I can tell you, however, is that God loves you, and even if pain almost overwhelms you at times, God is still with you and wants to help you. By faith, invite Christ to come into your life, and then thank Him every day that nothing — not even your pain — “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39). And someday you’ll go to be with Him in Heaven, where pain will be no more. – Billy Graham
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Meg Bucher writes about everyday life within the love of Christ. She stepped out of her comfort zone, and her Marketing career, to obey God’s call to stay home and be “Mom” in 2011. From that step of obedience her blog, Sunny&80, was born, a way to retain the funny everyday moments of motherhood. Meg is also a freelance writer and author of “Friends with Everyone.” She loves teaching God’s Word and leading Bible study, being a mom, distance running, photography, and the Cleveland Browns. Meg resides in Northern Ohio with her husband, two daughters, and Golden-Doodle.
