35 Bible Verses About Perseverance and Never Giving Up

Quitting looks increasingly attractive when the path forward offers nothing but more obstacles. You’ve already invested so much time, energy, and hope into this dream, relationship, or calling, yet progress feels invisible and setbacks multiply faster than victories. The finish line keeps moving further away, and you’re running out of reasons to keep going when walking away would end the struggle immediately.

Everyone around you seems to reach their goals faster while your journey drags on indefinitely. Doubt whispers that persistence is just stubbornness in disguise, that continuing forward means ignoring clear signs to quit, and that maybe God’s silence on the matter actually means His answer is no. The weight of disappointment, the fatigue of fighting, and the fear that endurance might ultimately prove pointless all tempt you to finally surrender what you’ve been holding onto.

Scripture is filled with stories of people who faced seemingly impossible odds yet refused to quit. The Bible celebrates endurance, commands persistence, and promises rewards for those who finish their race. These verses speak directly to the exhausted soul considering surrender, offering both practical wisdom for persevering and a divine perspective on why some battles are worth fighting until the end.

Bible Verses About Perseverance and Never Giving Up

1. Galatians 6:9 – Let Us Not Become Weary in Doing Good

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

New International Version (NIV)

2. James 1:12 – Blessed Is the One Who Perseveres Under Trial

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

English Standard Version (ESV)

3. Hebrews 12:1 – Let Us Run with Perseverance

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.

New Living Translation (NLT)

4. 2 Thessalonians 3:13 – As for You, Brothers and Sisters

But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.

New King James Version (NKJV)

5. Philippians 3:13-14 – Forgetting What Is Behind

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

6. 1 Corinthians 15:58 – Stand Firm. Let Nothing Move You

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

7. Romans 5:3-4 – We Also Glory in Our Sufferings

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope.

King James Version (KJV)

8. James 5:11 – As You Know, We Count as Blessed

Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

9. 2 Timothy 4:7 – I Have Fought the Good Fight

I’ve given it my all in the good fight, I’ve run hard to the finish, I’ve kept the faith.

The Message (MSG)

10. Luke 18:1 – Then Jesus Told His Disciples a Parable

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to give up.

Amplified Bible (AMP)

11. Hebrews 10:36 – You Need to Persevere

For you need endurance in order to do God’s will and receive what is promised.

New English Translation (NET)

12. 1 Peter 5:10 – And the God of All Grace

Now the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little while.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

13. Revelation 2:10 – Be Faithful, Even to the Point of Death

Don’t be afraid of what you will suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison, and you will be tested. You will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you life as your reward.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

14. Proverbs 24:16 – For Though the Righteous Fall Seven Times

No matter how often honest people fall, they always get up again; but disaster destroys the wicked.

Good News Translation (GNT)

15. Isaiah 40:31 – But Those Who Hope in the Lord

But the people who trust the Lord will become strong again. They will rise up as an eagle in the sky; they will run and not need rest; they will walk and not become tired.

New Century Version (NCV)

16. 2 Corinthians 4:16-17 – Therefore We Do Not Lose Heart

That is why we do not give up. Though outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are renewed day by day. For our light and temporary trouble is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond any comparison.

International Standard Version (ISV)

17. Colossians 1:11 – Being Strengthened with All Power

being empowered with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.

Tree of Life Version (TLV)

18. Romans 12:12 – Be Joyful in Hope, Patient in Affliction

Rejoicing in hope, enduring in suffering, persevering in prayer.

Lexham English Bible (LEB)

19. Matthew 24:13 – But the One Who Endures to the End

But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

World English Bible (WEB)

20. Psalm 27:14 – Wait for the Lord

Wait for Jehovah: Be strong, and let thy heart take courage; Yea, wait thou for Jehovah.

American Standard Version (ASV)

21. Hebrews 6:12 – We Do Not Want You to Become Lazy

so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Revised Standard Version (RSV)

22. 1 Corinthians 9:24 – Do You Not Know That in a Race

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

New American Bible (NAB)

23. 2 Chronicles 15:7 – But as for You, Be Strong

But be you strong therefore, and let not your handes be weake: for your worke shalbe rewarded.

Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB)

24. Philippians 4:13 – I Can Do All This Through Him

I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.

English Revised Version (ERV)

25. Nehemiah 4:14 – After I Looked Things Over

And I see, and rise up, and say unto the freemen, and unto the prefects, and unto the rest of the people, ‘Be not afraid of them; the Lord, the great and the fearful, remember ye, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.’

Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)

26. Joshua 1:9 – Have I Not Commanded You?

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and courageous; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Darby Translation (DARBY)

27. Psalm 37:7 – Be Still Before the Lord

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Weymouth New Testament (WNT)

28. Lamentations 3:26 – It Is Good to Wait Quietly

It is good to a man, whanne he hath bore the yok fro his yongthe.

Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

29. Micah 7:7 – But as for Me, I Watch in Hope

Therefore I will looke vnto the Lord: I will waite for God my Sauiour: my God will heare me.

Geneva Bible (GNV)

30. Isaiah 35:3-4 – Strengthen the Feeble Hands

Comfort ye the weake handes, and stablishe the feeble knees. Say vnto them that are of a fearefull heart: Be of good courage, and feare not.

Bishop’s Bible

31. 1 Timothy 6:12 – Fight the Good Fight of the Faith

Fyght the good fyght of fayth. Laye honde on eternall lyfe, where vnto thou arte called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Tyndale Bible

32. Psalm 31:24 – Be Strong and Take Heart

So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!

The Living Bible (TLB)

33. Isaiah 43:2 – When You Pass Through the Waters

When you pass through deep, raging waters, you will not be overcome. When you walk through persecution like fiery flames, you will not be burned; the flames will not harm you.

The Passion Translation (TPT)

34. Habakkuk 2:3 – For the Revelation Awaits an Appointed Time

For the vision is meant for an appointed time; it testifies to the end, and it will not lie. Even if it delays, wait for it, because it is certainly coming; it will not be late.

The Voice Bible (VOICE)

35. 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 – We Are Hard-Pressed on Every Side

We are pushed hard from all sides. But we are not beaten down. We are bewildered. But that doesn’t make us lose hope. Others make us suffer. But God does not desert us. We are knocked down. But we are not knocked out.

New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)

Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Perseverance and Never Giving Up

Paul’s athletic imagery throughout his letters wasn’t accidental. Runners don’t quit mid-race when their legs burn or their lungs scream for relief. They push through discomfort because they’ve trained for this moment, and the finish line awaits. Spiritual endurance operates similarly. The difficulties you face now are building strength for what’s ahead, and stopping just before the breakthrough means missing everything you’ve been working toward.

Job’s story revolutionizes how we understand perseverance. His suffering wasn’t punishment or testing but simply the reality of living in a broken world. Yet he refused to curse God despite losing everything, and his endurance ultimately led to restoration exceeding what he’d lost. The Bible never promises that persistence guarantees success by our definition, but it consistently affirms that those who endure will see God’s faithfulness manifest in ways they couldn’t orchestrate themselves.

James connects perseverance directly to spiritual maturity. Trials that force you to keep going when quitting looks easier are precisely what develop character and deepen faith. If God removed every obstacle the moment things got difficult, you’d never build the spiritual muscle needed for harder battles ahead. The struggle itself is part of the blessing, shaping you into someone capable of handling the destiny God has prepared for you.

Say This Prayer

Heavenly Father, I’m exhausted from holding on when letting go would be so much easier. The obstacles keep multiplying, the finish line keeps moving, and I’m running out of reasons to believe this struggle will ever end. My faith feels weaker than it should, and I’m questioning whether perseverance is wisdom or just stubbornness refusing to accept defeat.

Give me the strength to take the next step even when I can’t see the path ahead. Help me distinguish between situations where You’re calling me to persevere and circumstances where You’re actually releasing me to move on. Show me which battles are worth fighting to the end and which ones I need wisdom to walk away from.

Renew my hope when discouragement threatens to drown out Your voice. Remind me of past victories when present challenges feel insurmountable. Surround me with people who can encourage me during this season rather than those who suggest quitting is the only reasonable option.

Let this struggle produce character and maturity rather than just bitterness and exhaustion. Help me trust that You’re working even when I can’t see evidence of progress, and that my labor isn’t in vain even when results are invisible.

In Jesus’ enduring name, Amen.