Top 12 Bible Verses for Hope in the New Year
Ascension Team“What do you look forward to for the coming year?” Perhaps you have a few happy answers to this question; or maybe you dread the darkness that a New Year may bring. Although we often look forward to many things in the future, true hopefulness is not easy to maintain. And in a society where anxiety and depression affect many people, we must struggle even more today to keep our hearts up.
While 2025 was the Jubilee of Hope in the Catholic Church, each and every year is meant to be one of hope for those who trust in the Lord. When you are struggling to live this, turn to his consoling words in Scripture. These 12 passages, one for each month of the year, are reminders that trusting the Lord is the best remedy for the most challenging anxieties.
6 Peaceful Promises from the Old Testament
The Old Testament is the story of God rescuing his people and offering them new chances to repair their union with him. It is sprinkled with reminders of God’s presence and his grace for the most challenging moments. We can rest in knowing that the same God who delivered Israel from Egypt and brought them through famine, bondage, war, and woes is also our refuge.
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In the moments when we expect Him to be furthest away, the Lord is actually very close to us. According to Psalm 34:18, that means he is with us even amid sadness, depression, and grief. “I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears … The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
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In Psalm 42:11, we are reminded that although discouragement is a normal human emotion, hope has the final word. “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.”
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When anxiety leads to restlessness and a consuming desire to fix everything, the Lord hints that the pressure is not on us, reminding us in Psalm 46:11. “Be still, and know that I am God.”
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Feeling tired of negative thought patterns, and fainthearted from dismal emotions? The words of Isaiah 40:31 are a reviving promise. “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”
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Worried about a difficult situation and feeling alone in facing it? You are not stranded: the Lord has promised to make a way for you like he did for the Israelites in Deuteronomy 31:8. “It is the Lord who goes before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed.”
- Nightfall often brings a resurge of anxieties and fears, and in the darkness it is easy to doubt what we usually believe confidently in the light. But this does not change God’s love for us, nor his faithfulness, nor the renewal of his mercies, as Lamentations 3:22-23 makes clear: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
6 Hopeful Verses in the New Testament
When Christ came to earth, hope became incarnate. He brought a new and more lasting peace than ever before through the forgiveness of sins, the promise of eternal life, and through the Sacraments as signs of his presence. We can rest in the reassurances found in Christ’s teachings and handed on by his apostles.
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When you cannot seem to get a moment’s rest from the thousand little concerns that live rent-free in your mind and weigh down your soul, recall that Christ invites you to the place of true relief in his words from Matthew 11:28-30. “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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Plenty of books, YouTube videos, and programs promise to teach the secrets to peace and happiness. But in fact, the secret is not found in things of this world, or in anyone outside of Christ, as he teaches in John 14:27. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
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The best solution to all your worries? Prayer and gratitude! We cannot fix everything, but Jesus can, if we invite him into difficult situations, as Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us. “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
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Anxiety isolates, making us feel alone and unloved. You were not meant to bear anxieties alone. For moments of difficulty and loneliness, recall 1 Peter 5:7. “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”
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It can be very easy to doubt God’s goodness and presence when we are oppressed by difficulties, but to recall that God does not leave us stranded in them, look at 1 Corinthians 10:13. “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.”
- How often do we tell ourselves, “I am strong, I can do it,” and intend to perfectly handle whatever comes our way? Sooner or later, however, limitations confront us. Rather than being discouraged by them, we can recall the words of the Lord to St. Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness . . . Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”