45 Bible Verses about Suffering, Of Believers

And you will be objects of universal hatred because you are called by my name; but he who holds out to the End--he will be saved.

You will be objects of universal hatred because you are called by my name, but those who stand firm to the End will be saved.

But beware of men; for they will deliver you up to appear before Sanhedrins, and will flog you in their synagogues;

"For this reason I am sending to you Prophets and wise men and Scribes. Some of them you will put to death--nay, crucify; some of them you will flog in your synagogues and chase from town to town;

"At that time they will deliver you up to punishment and will put you to death; and you will be objects of hatred to all the nations because you are called by my name.

You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives, friends; and some of you they will put to death. You will be the objects of universal hatred because you are called by my name;

Everywhere they strengthened the disciples by encouraging them to hold fast to the faith, and warned them saying, "It is through many afflictions that we must make our way into the Kingdom of God."

And indeed every one who is determined to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

For you have had the privilege granted you on behalf of Christ--not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf;

Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.

Dismiss your fears concerning all that you are about to suffer. I tell you that the Devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be put to the test, and for ten days you will have to endure persecution. Be faithful to the End, even if you have to die, and then I will give you the victor's Wreath of Life.

As it stands written in the Scripture, "For Thy sake they are, all day long, trying to kill us. We have been looked upon as sheep destined for slaughter."

having determined to endure ill-treatment along with the people of God rather than enjoy the short-lived pleasures of sin; because he deemed the reproaches which he might meet with in the service of the Christ to be greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt; for he fixed his gaze on the coming reward.

They arrested the two Apostles and lodged them in custody till the next day; for it was already evening.

His advice carried conviction. So they called the Apostles in, and--after flogging them--ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then let them go.

and speaking fearlessly in the name of the Lord. And he often talked with the Hellenists and had discussions with them.

Now, about that time, King Herod arrested certain members of the Church, in order to ill-treat them; and James, John's brother, he beheaded. Finding that this gratified the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also; these being the days of Unleavened Bread.

Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as if I were out of my mind.) From the Jews I five times have received forty lashes all but one. Three times I have been beaten with Roman rods, once I have been stoned, three times I have been shipwrecked, once for full four and twenty hours I was floating on the open sea.read more.
I have served Him by frequent travelling, amid dangers in crossing rivers, dangers from robbers; dangers from my own countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles; dangers in the city, dangers in the Desert, dangers by sea, dangers from spies in our midst; with labour and toil, with many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, in frequent fastings, in cold, and with insufficient clothing. And besides other things, which I pass over, there is that which presses on me daily--my anxiety for all the Churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led astray into sin, and I am not aflame with indignation?

Have you endured such sufferings to no purpose--if indeed it has been to no purpose?

But, as you will remember, after we had already met with suffering and outrage at Philippi, we summoned up boldness, by the help of our God, to tell you God's Good News amid much opposition.

At this they are astonished--that you do not run into the same excess of profligacy as they do; and they speak abusively of you.

But continually recall to mind the days now past, when on being first enlightened you went through a great conflict and many sufferings. This was partly through allowing yourselves to be made a public spectacle amid reproaches and persecutions, and partly through coming forward to share the sufferings of those who were thus treated. For you not only showed sympathy with those who were imprisoned, but you even submitted with joy when your property was taken from you, being well aware that you have in your own selves a more valuable possession and one which will remain.

"Blessed are those who have borne persecution in the cause of Righteousness, for to them belongs the Kingdom of the Heavens. "Blessed are you when they have insulted and persecuted you, and have said every cruel thing about you falsely for my sake. Be joyful and triumphant, because your reward is great in the Heavens; for so were the Prophets before you persecuted.

Then fixing His eyes upon His disciples, Jesus said to them, "Blessed are you poor, because the Kingdom of God is yours. "Blessed are you who hunger now, because your hunger shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you who now weep aloud, because you shall laugh. "Blessed are you when men shall hate you and exclude you from their society and insult you, and spurn your very names as evil things, for the Son of Man's sake.read more.
"Be glad at such a time, and dance for joy; for your reward is great in Heaven; for that is just the way their forefathers behaved to the Prophets!

They, therefore, left the Sanhedrin and went their way, rejoicing that they had been deemed worthy to suffer disgrace on behalf of the NAME.

Do not be ashamed then to bear witness for our Lord and for me His prisoner; but rather share suffering with me in the service of the Good News, strengthened by the power of God.

For it is an acceptable thing with God, if, from a sense of duty to Him, a man patiently submits to wrong, when treated unjustly.

For it is better that you should suffer for doing right, if such be God's will, than for doing evil;

Dear friends, do not be surprised at finding that that scorching flame of persecution is raging among you to put you to the test--as though some surprising thing were accidentally happening to you. On the contrary, in the degree that you share in the sufferings of the Christ, rejoice, so that at the unveiling of His glory you may also rejoice with triumphant gladness. You are to be envied, if you are being reproached for bearing the name of Christ; for in that case the Spirit of glory-- even the Spirit of God--is resting upon you.read more.
But let not one of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evil-doer, or as a spy upon other people's business. If, however, any one suffers because he is a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God for being permitted to bear that name.

The sufferings that you are enduring are for your discipline. God is dealing with you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own property. But because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world--for that reason the world hates you.

I have given them Thy Message, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

and if children, then heirs too--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ; if indeed we are sharers in Christ's sufferings, in order that we may also be sharers in His glory.

From this time onward let no one trouble me; for, as for me, I bear, branded on my body, the scars of Jesus as my Master.

It so increases that we ourselves make honourable mention of you among the Churches of God because of your patience and faith amid all your persecutions and amid the afflictions which you are enduring. For these are a plain token of God's righteous judgement, which has in view your being deemed worthy of admission to God's Kingdom, for the sake of which, indeed, you are sufferers.

Now, at the time, discipline seems to be a matter not for joy, but for grief; yet it afterwards yields to those who have passed through its training a result full of peace--namely, righteousness.

Every branch in me--if it bears no fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Rejoice triumphantly in the prospect of this, even if now, for a short time, you are compelled to sorrow amid various trials. The sorrow comes in order that the testing of your faith--being more precious than that of gold, which perishes and yet is proved by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the re-appearing of Jesus Christ.

always, wherever we go, carrying with us in our bodies the putting to death of Jesus, so that in our bodies it may also be clearly shown that Jesus lives.

Now I can find joy amid my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my own person whatever is lacking in Christ's afflictions on behalf of His Body, the Church.

For I will let him know the great sufferings which he must pass through for My sake."

except that the Holy Spirit, at town after town, testifies to me that imprisonment and suffering are awaiting me. But even the sacrifice of my life I count as nothing, if only I may perfect my earthly course, and be faithful to the duty which the Lord Jesus has entrusted to me of proclaiming, as of supreme importance, the Good News of God's grace.

God, it seems to me, has exhibited us Apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; for we have come to be a spectacle to all creation--alike to angels and to men. We, for Christ's sake, are labeled as "foolish"; you, as Christians, are men of shrewd intelligence. We are mere weaklings: you are strong. You are in high repute: we are outcasts. To this very moment we endure both hunger and thirst, with scanty clothing and many a blow.read more.
Homes we have none. Wearily we toil, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we bear it patiently; when slandered, we try to conciliate. We have come to be regarded as the mere dirt and filth of the world--the refuse of the universe, even to this hour.

Heartfelt thanks be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ--the Father who is full of compassion and the God who gives all comfort. He comforts us in our every affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction by means of the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as we have more than our share of suffering for the Christ, so also through the Christ we have more than our share of comfort.

you for whom I am again, as it were, undergoing the pains of childbirth, until Christ is fully formed within you.