Bible Verses to Read in the Psych Ward

As I recall my stays in the psych wards, God’s promises in the Bible were like stepping stones across the rapids. Many of the passages I clung to gave me comfort and confidence. Aside from the extreme hyper-religious thinking that occurred sometimes, I was able to read these verses and claim them for recovery and getting better. I hope you can refer to these too if you ever face a battle. They’re great armor and even a sword to defend yourself against lies from the enemy in those vulnerable places.

All passages below are in New King James Version

The Twenty-Third Psalm

Job 13:15 “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.”

Psalms 34:18 “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.”

1 Kings 19:4-8  “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!’

Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, ‘Arise and eat.’  Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, ‘Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.’  So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.”

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Joshua 1: 6-9 “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.”

Psalm 30:5 “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”

Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.”

Psalm 107:29 “He calms the storm, so that its waves are still.”

2 Thessalonians 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.”

Psalms 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Be strong, you can do this, and you’re not alone.