One person wrote on Reddit's r/Catholicism, "I pray to God that He gives me courage to decide." and, in the same post, "I lack the courage to take action." Another asked for prayer "For the Holy Spirit to guide me in a difficult medical decision." A third, on r/Bible, wrote "Please help me read some bible verses on courage, and bravery." In one r/Catholicism discussion, somebody asked "should we pray for courage OR fearlessness, two different things." and gave an example: "one is asking a girl out even if you're afraid and one is not being afraid of of it at all." Most passages below are about the first kind, courage with the fear still present.
Psychology agrees. The APA Dictionary of Psychology calls courage "the ability to meet a difficult challenge despite the physical, psychological, or moral risks involved in doing so," and a review in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders quotes Rachman's definition, "behavioral approach in spite of the experience of fear." The APA's 2025 reporting adds that the risk "may or may not involve overcoming fear," so that question stays open.
If you only have a minute
Before the hard thing
Psalm 56:3-4. Say verse 3 once, then take the next small step.
The words most people look for
Joshua 1:1-9, said to Joshua the day he took over from Moses.
Doing it quietly
Gideon, afraid, obeying at night in Judges 6:27.
If home is unsafe
A trained helpline comes first. The routes are further down.
Psalm 56:3-4, for the moment before
The passage this site offers for fear is short enough to say in a hallway:
When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you. In God, I praise his word. In God, I put my trust. I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
It admits the fear first, then says what the speaker does while still afraid, which makes it something to say while walking in. Say verse 3 once, then take the next small step: the phone call, the knock on the door, the first sentence. The question that goes with it is this: What are you afraid of right now, if you say it plainly?
Its heading ties the psalm to the Philistines seizing David in Gath, where he could not know how the day would end. Bible verses for fear of failure tells that story in full, and bible verses for fear of the future reads the psalm for what has not happened yet.
The next small step is often the door.
Joshua 1, the passage most people come for
Moses has died, and Joshua is told to lead Israel across the Jordan:
5 No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you. 6 “Be strong and courageous; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. 9 Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”
"Be strong and courageous" comes three times, with company and words to keep "day and night." In Deuteronomy 31, Moses at a hundred and twenty says it to all Israel, then to Joshua "in the sight of all Israel." Later David tells Solomon, about building the temple, "Be strong and courageous, and do it." The phrase is passed on at a handover, before a task, and if you are starting something new, that may be the most useful thing about it. The record for fear set Joshua 1:9 aside as a first passage for somebody frightened; the fear of failure page gives the reasons.
How the charge has been read
Traditions apply these words differently. Matthew Henry reads it as courage for "the duties of his place." The Orthodox Church in America calls courage a virtue expressed "not only in times of persecution and suffering," but "in the smallest, most common things of everyday life."
Bible Hub's interlinear parses chazaq, "be strong," and amats, "be courageous," as commands to Joshua alone, and the pair returns in Deuteronomy 31:6, 1 Chronicles 28:20 and Psalm 27:14. In Acts 4 the Greek is parrhesia, boldness or freedom in speaking. In 1 Corinthians 16:13, andrizesthe was "act like men" in older translations and is "Be courageous!" in the World English Bible, followed by "Let all that you do be done in love."
Gideon, afraid and obeying at night
For the hard thing you can only manage quietly, there is Gideon, told to pull down his father's altar to Baal:
27 Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as Yahweh had spoken to him. Because he feared his father’s household and the men of the city, he could not do it by day, but he did it by night.
The fear and the obedience sit in the same verse.
When nobody knows how it will end
Esther knows anyone who goes to the king uncalled is put to death, "except those to whom the king might hold out the golden scepter." Mordecai asks, "Who knows if you haven’t come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" She asks the Jews of Shushan to fast for her three days, and says, "Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish." Matthew Henry calls it "a bold venture" and notes the fasting, and Cornelius a Lapide reads her words as accepting danger, not expecting rescue.
At Nebuchadnezzar's furnace, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego say their God is able to deliver them:
18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up.
Both leave the outcome open, and so does Psalm 56.
Often asked for alongside other people.
Courage asked for together
In Acts 4, after Peter and John are questioned, their own company prays, "grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness." Psalm 27 ends, "Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh."
One parent asked on Reddit's r/Catholicism, "Please pray for me and my daughter to have strength, patience, and courage in the weeks that follow." You could send Psalm 56:3 or Psalm 27:14, with a line on its setting and one of your own.
If you have been told a believer should feel no fear
In one thread on Reddit's r/Catholicism, a poster quoted "Say the Jesus Prayer and fear nothing," attributed to Elder Ephraim, and asked whether that was really the goal. A reply said, "maxims such as that one are not literal advice or promises, and are not even necessarily the right advice for all of us."
The verse often quoted here is 2 Timothy 1:7. Paul wrote it to Timothy, remembering his tears and the faith of Lois and Eunice, about his gift; the next verse asks him to "endure hardship":
7 For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
Ellicott calls it "the spirit of cowardice," Chrysostom reads the fear as timidity in testimony, and the Catholic Haydock commentary reads it within Timothy's ministry. All three keep it there, and bible verses for fear of death has a section on this.
If the brave step is leaving an unsafe home
Safety comes before any verse. The National Domestic Violence Hotline says, "Please contact 911 if you feel like you are in immediate danger or a life-threatening situation," and also that "Leaving is often the most dangerous time for survivors of abuse." Refuge in the UK says the same. The brave step is usually a call to a trained person who can help you plan.
In the United States, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is on 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text START to 88788. In the UK, the Refuge National Domestic Abuse Helpline is 0808 2000 247, the Respect Men's Advice Line is 0808 801 0327, and Women's Aid has live chat. Anywhere else, Find A Helpline lists services by country.
When fear runs your whole life
The NHS calls a phobia "an overwhelming and debilitating fear of an object, place, situation, feeling or animal," one "out of proportion to the actual danger." Mind says anxiety can become a problem "if your anxiety is having a big impact on your daily life." If that sounds familiar, talk to a doctor.
Questions people ask
Does "be strong and courageous" promise my plan will succeed? It was spoken to Joshua about a named task, and Calvin's commentary keeps it tied to that commission. Read that way, it is words to carry into the work in front of you while the outcome is still open.
Can I be punished at work for speaking up? In the United States, the EEOC says retaliation for opposing discrimination on protected grounds such as race, religion or sex is unlawful. Not all speaking up is covered.
Where was Gath? A Philistine city, where Psalm 56's heading says David was seized.
Where to go next
If you are thinking about ending your life, please reach a person tonight. In the United States, call or text 988 for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. In Canada, call or text 9-8-8. In the UK and Republic of Ireland, Samaritans is on 116 123. In Australia, Lifeline is 13 11 14. In New Zealand, call or text 1737. Anywhere else, Find A Helpline lists services by country.
For the hard thing ahead, read Psalm 56:3-4 with the verses around it, and say verse 3 once before you go in.
Or describe what you are carrying in your own words, and Bible Nudge can suggest a single passage with its setting. Find a passage.
Words that come up here
Tap a term to see what it means.
Yahweh. The personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible, printed where many translations have "the LORD".