There’s a lot of “take it or leave it” in life. When my grocery store sends me coupons, I clip the ones I want and toss the rest. At the salad bar, I can pile on the mushrooms and skip the chickpeas. But God doesn’t give us a “take it or leave it” option with His Word. We can’t accept what we like and reject the rest. We can’t embrace the easy stuff and ignore the hard.
Every book of the Bible has value for our lives today. Even Leviticus. Every passage, no matter how controversial in our culture or hard to understand is still relevant. In his article “How to Read Hard Bible Passages,” Kurt Buhr wrote:
“I have to admit, some parts of the Bible are tricky to understand and much easier to simply skip past–or cut out… But if we align with Paul’s instructions that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16), then we must resist the urge to grab our kitchen shears…”
What’s true for hard-to-understand passages is also true for challenging Bible verses. I mean, some verses in the Bible are easier to swallow than others. Even though I wholeheartedly believe them all, there are some I honestly just don’t like very much. In fact, some Bible verses feel too demanding.
Let me explain.
Some verses, like “He gives strength to the weary…” and “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurable more than all we ask or imagine…” cause me to throw my arms open wide and yell “Bring it on, Lord!”
But others cause me to sigh and take a deep breath and think, “Really? Isn’t that kind of difficult?”
Five Challenging Bible Verses that I Want to Embrace
Below are 5 verses that I find really challenging to fully embrace and live out every day. Oh, there are others too – and I may have a slightly different top 5 tomorrow – but these will definitely stay in at least the top 10 for the indefinite future.
- Matthew 6:33 – I really like the last half of this verse about God supplying my needs, oh yes! But when we read the whole thing in the context of the passage, we see the primary topic is worry. Jesus said we spend too much time and energy worrying about our needs. We allow worry to keep us from pursuing Jesus and His Kingdom. The challenge: To turn off the worry and turn to Jesus. Or better yet, turn to Jesus to turn off the worry!
- James 1:2 – James doesn’t waste any time with small talk in his letter. Essentially he says, “Dear Jewish believers, be full of joy when life punches you in the gut.” (My paraphrase of course.) Sounds unrealistic right? James says we can be joyful in spite of our circumstances because we know God plans to use them for our spiritual good and for His purposes. The challenge: To keep our eyes on the spiritual and eternal rather than the physical and temporary.
- Romans 12:2 – God wants us to be like Jesus, not like the world around us. But truly, it’s a daily battle. Our culture constantly bombards us with values and behavior that is contrary to the character of Christ. (See also “What are You Feeding Your Mind.“) The challenge: To strap on that spiritual armor, refuse to compromise, and yield ourselves to the Spirit’s transforming power. (See also “The Armor of God is More than a Prayer.“)
- John 15:12 – Okay, let’s be honest. Sometimes our fellow believers aren’t easy to love. Plus, did you notice that Jesus said we should love each other “as I have loved you.” Well, Jesus gave His life for us, so this is really extreme. He wants us to be willing to die for each other. To put others’ needs ahead of our own. To honor others over ourselves. The challenge: To take off pride and selfishness and put on humility and selflessness in order to genuinely love others.
- Galatians 2:20 – Wait a minute. My life isn’t my life? Nope. Jesus purchased my life on the cross and it’s His to do with as He sees fit. But if I can remember this, the previous 4 challenging verses suddenly get a lot easy to live out. The challenge: To consciously choose every minute of every day to give my life to Jesus.
Jesus’ way may seem challenging. But the reality is, He only wants what’s best for us. His way is abundant and satisfying and joyful. His way is life.
Please feel free to disagree with my list. Or add to it! What Bible verses would you add to the “challenging Bible verses” list and why?
Today’s reading really spoke to me! Thank you. There are indeed verses that seem to call heavily upon our being able to let go and let God take total control. In our current society, with the growing distrust for those who govern, it becomes tougher to allow ourselves to drop our guard for any reason; even for the sake of our eternal soul. But we must remember, God is above this physical world, never changing, never forsaking, always loyal, eternally trustworthy and will never let us down or mislead. Let go, let God.
Gary, like you said, reminding myself of who God really is helps me let go and trust Him. He is “eternally trustworthy!” I just seem to forget it and want to trust myself instead!
Oh, how I need these Scripture verses today!
Glad God has used them to encourage you! Thanks for coming by Jane!
Thanks alot i need more.
I cherish these scriptures so much I need more to build me up.
Alfred Ug
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
Philippians 4:8 KJV
Because we are called to use this verse as a filter on everything that we let in our lives. Like how much stuff can you think of that doesn’t abide by this ? All that is worthless. And obviously there is going to be people your around that curse and have a perverse mouth but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t guard the parts of our live that don’t have to be in sin or exposed to sin
These five challenges really blesses me, especially, romans 12:2. makes me think more of what Christ did for me, why he had to die, he knew we couldn’t bare it all, he knew we couldn’t live every second in purity, he knew we couldn’t respond how he wanted us to, he knew we wouldn’t give an answer when it was required of us, he knew we weren’t willing to die the way he did, but because he loves us so much, he was still, while we were yet sinners,he still died for us. What a loving God. Not only that but you can think of what Jesus said in Matthew 15:11 in relation to romans 12:2.Its not what you eat that defiles a man but what comes out of a man. Think of the world and the influence it has upon us, when you look at the anger in people,the hatred, the injustice, the crime, it has a lot of influence. Its what we are use to taking in, it’s what we’ve been fed all this time. its undeniable that some of these things will some how influence us, our children. Its how we respond (love of Jesus) to what surrounds us that will determine our defilement. Thank you for reminding me of Gods love.
Its really a challenging for each and every words you have mentioned,frankly speaking it really touch my heart…
Good choice of verses to hold onto. Favorite of mine is James 1:2 {Considering it pure joy when trials face us} is a challenge I have been trying to work into my life since I broke my neck in 1997. In severe pain, head strapped to a back board…a similar verse Rom 8:28 came to me. (in all things God works for the good of those who love him) I guess it was a test so I thanked him for my broken neck and I meant it as much as I could although feelings don,t always have to be there for sincerity I learned later. I tried to look at why I should be thankful, like well I was not paralyzed etc. Now I know if God said it that’s enough. Obedience demonstrates trust also if we don,t understand the reasons. And he can have many we will never see. That day I broke my neck turned into an amazing gift shortly after Thanking God. A cat scan revealed a large brain tumor against my spinal cord. The doctor said it likely saved my life because I had no symptoms yet.., and since my wife would not let me race motocross without health insurance I had just got a 30 day policy only weeks earlier that ended up paying completely for both neck and brain sergeries. Looking back God proved his faithfulness to those who trust his word . A nice thing about James 1:2 he said consider it pure joy in trials not feel pure joy. I experience more peace and gratitude now during the big difficult moments because I know God is not allowing it for no reason. I may need diciplin too. When I am grateful for the trials I can see the blessings more easily later. Even in the ultimate trial of death there is the great reward for us and steven knew it.
Chris, thank you for sharing your story with us! I love that God is able to use any and every situation He allows into our lives. He is indeed a God of restoration and redemption!
1 thess 5:18 Giving thanks in ( all ) circumstances is not easy but when I read your list and james 1:2 a light came on. Just as love is a decision not a feeling although feelings usually follow, so is gratefulness. Adults tell children to say thankyou even though we can see their heart is not completely in it sometimes. The hope is that the habit will turn into a genuine lifestyle. Reminding ourselves to give thanks for a loss of job or painful experience is a bit easier now that James 1:2 says consider and know that there is real joy and good resulting from a trial and so giving thanks makes sense even if our heart or feelings are not onboard yet. God is faithful and will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear…1 cor 10:13 Thanks Kathy for pointing out challenging verses.
I now thank GOD that people are now understanding new covenant mentality ,Jesus said it is finished.thanks KATHY.
You should add Galatians 2:17 on here. I have been wrestling with this passage for a while now to find out what in the world it means.
Whether we’re Jews or Gentiles, we’re not made right with God by obedience to the law (see: 2 Corinthians 8-10), but by faith in Jesus Christ. Some of Paul’s rivals argued that abolishing the law promoted sinful behaviour; someone could be justified by faith and then live as he pleased (2:17). Thus in doing so, Christ would be a promoter of sin. Paul denied this. Instead, the actual sin was turning back to the law after one had believed.