On this page we will be listing some bible passages that have brought comfort and hope to folk who have either experienced poor mental health or mental illness themselves or who have loved ones who do.
If you would like to submit some passages which have helped you personally or folk who you know, please feel free to do so via the comment section below. Please note, when submitting passages we ask that you would also include a brief explanation of how or why that particular passage helps you.
Many thanks.
(Please not that all the following passages are taken from the NIV Bible.)
Psalm 46:1-3 “1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
This passage speaks clearly about where the primary source of help can be found in troubled times. It gives assurances that we can cling to – refuge and strength, ever-present help.
The bible is clear. Salvation – eternal union with God – is open to all in the person, presence and purpose of Christ and through a personal relationship with Him. (John 3:16) Therefore that help which is so clearly spoken about in this passage is also open to all in the same way – through that personal relationship with Christ.
Psalm 57:1 “1 Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.”
Like so many of the psalms, this one again speaks about God’s refuge and also His shelter. The imagery of taking refuge ‘in the shadow of your wings‘ is one that puts me in mind of a bird looking after it’s young. It speaks to me of closeness, intimacy, protection, being parented – are these all not things that God wants for us to experience in Him though Christ? And it also speaks beyond that for me. It speaks of the fact that the storm or the disaster will pass and that one day we will fly again!
Psalm 139:7-12 “7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
To some this may be a scary passage. But to those who have a faith it has such wonderful promise. I t clearly shows that no matter where we go, we are not beyond God’s reach nor His mercy. No matter how we may feel God is there for us…. “If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.”
Isaiah 40:28-31 “28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
There is such power and promise in this passage isn’t there? It speaks so clearly into not only the strength, endurance, and endlessness of God but also that He chooses to provide that strength that endurance and that eternal promise to us, and yes even those of us who suffer from moments or long periods of weakness. And let’s not lose sight of an important truth in this passage. – We all, even the young, grow tired and weary, stumble and fall, BUT we have a source of strength and that is in the Lord and through Him we will be able to ‘soar on wings like eagles’, ‘run and not grow weary’, ‘walk and not grow faint’.
Isaiah 41:10 “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.”
All too often we face times of desperation, times when we feel that we are beyond help. But this passage, like so many of the passages in the bible, is a passage with a promise and one that we can use to speak into that desperation.
Isaiah 43:1 – 2 “But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
How often do we face situations where we feel unworthy, where the trials that we are facing will bring us down. God’s promise to Jacob and Israel are as true to us as it was to them. He will bring us through.
Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
For me, this passage not only speaks about God’s calling on Jeremiah’s life but also the fact that God ‘knew us’ whilst we were still being formed, before we were born.
For those of us whose mental health struggles are, either in part or completely, resultant from experiences in life this offers great hope. It shows that God knew who we were before those harmful experiences ever happened and that our relationship with Him is not solely based on who we may have become as a result of those experiences.
Jeremiah 29:11 “11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
As Christians we are not immune to doubts nor those sometimes harmful internal dialogues. And for those who suffer poor mental health or mental illness these can often be so much more frequent or acute. This passage in Jeremiah can be used to speak God’s truth into those situations and to provide firm ground on which to stand in situations such as these.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
A glorious promise offered to all and one that we can surely stand on no matter where we see ourselves of how we feel. Focus on the depth of the promise here. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.“
Luke 6:20-21 “20 Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.””
Yet another passage with a promise. God is our loving Heavenly Father and through His son Christ Jesus (whose words these were) He will provide for our needs.
1 John 4:15-16a “15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us…”
Here we are all offered a promise of hope. This is a promise offered to each and every one of us.
Romans 8:38-39 “38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
What incredible words aren’t they? For I am convinced that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That is basically what this passage is telling us. And that nothing includes – our pasts, our physical illnesses, our mental illnesses etc. If we have Christ we have a total and indisputable hope and assurance.
Colossians 1:13 “13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Here again we see that nothing can stand against or in the way of God’s love for us. Why? Because through Christ we have been rescued.
Romans 8:22-25 “22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
This passage not only recognizes God’s rightful place, but also the the place of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. And on top of this it recognizes that our hope is not based on circumstances and experiences but on the promise of Christ. And what of that Holy Spirit? Check out the next verses…
Romans 8:26-27 “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
God’s Holy Spirit, promised to all believers in Christ is not idle. It has a purpose and that purpose is very real and very beneficial to all believers…
Romans 8:28 “8 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Yes God works in all things for the good of those who love Him. No matter what we face, no matter what our experiences or our mental health may try to tell us that remains so very true. And let there be no confusion or doubt here. Who has God called? Well let’s end on perhaps the most well known Scripture of them all, John 3:16…
John 3:16 “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
“Whoever believes in him.” This is not open to just some but to all – ‘whoever’. Need more proof? Let’s go on…
John 3:17-18 “17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
This gift was not given to just some but to the world. You and I no matter how low or alone may feel are undeniably part of that world and thus this gift and the promises that come with it can be our as well. All that is required is that we accept that gift.
Christian Concern For Mental Health 
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wow! That was refreshing!
Hey Carla,
Really pleased that you liked it.
Kinds regards and God bless you.
Kevin