267: Bible Verses that Meet Your Emotional Needs for Love, Comfort + Purpose

Last Updated on August 29, 2024 by Alicia Michelle

Our emotional needs are what makes us human – and thankfully, God wants to help meet these needs. Today I am sharing Bible verses for emotional needs for love, comfort and purpose, and 3 ways we can use scripture as therapy. Friend, let these verses help you embrace daily joy!

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WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

[03:19] Emotional Need #1: The Need to Be Loved

[07:49] Emotional Need #2: The Need to Feel Worth

[11:52] Emotional Need #3: The Need to Be Comforted

[20:23] Emotional Need #4: The Need For Purpose and Direction

[27:50] 3 Ways We Can Use These Scriptures as Therapy
[30:52] Emotional Needs Remind Us That It’s Healthy for Us to Stay Dependent on God

[03:19] Emotional Need #1: The Need to Be Loved

We are all designed with the need to be cared for and thought of. This is something many of us seek through companionship whether that is a romantic relationship, a close friendship, or a family relationship.

This is part of the way that God brings fulfillment into our lives – but it is not the ultimate way. The way for us to know and feel loved is through a relationship with Him. I have an entire four-week Bible study called “I Am Loved” that goes into the different ways we can accept God's love in our lives. It is different from many Bible studies on love because it addresses things that keep us from God's love. In terms of love, we need to have that ultimate assurance and confirmation from God.

Jeremiah 31:3 says, “Long ago, the Lord said to Israel, I have loved you, My people with an everlasting love, with unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself.” Much of the book of Jeremiah talks about how the people of Israel were fully loved by God but they still turned away and ran from Him.

You may hear a verse like that and think “Well that is nice but I have turned away from God many times and if you only knew what I did in my life then you would know that God could never love me.” Whatever dialogues are in your head, I want you to know that this verse was written from the perspective of God speaking to the prophet Jeremiah to a people who had abandoned Him. He still loved and took care of them. He uses his unfailing love to draw us to Himself. There is an amazing verse in the New Testament that says, “I have loved you, first. You love others, because I have loved you first.” God loves us unconditionally, through our entire lives, and even into eternity – this promise can help sustain us.

Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.”

Although you may have heard this Psalm before, do not let the magnitude of this statement go unnoticed. The God of the universe has been pursuing you with unfailing love your entire life. You and I get to live in the house of the Lord forever if we choose to be in that relationship with Him. When we feel unloved, rejected, or hurt, we can stand in the truth and say “God has always pursued me with His everlasting love, and He is never going to stop loving me like this.” This is a perfect love and we need to claim it.

[07:49] Emotional Need #2: The Need to Feel Worth

We are also designed to have worth and value in what we do. Like a snowflake, we are each uniquely made with inherent value. If you need reassurance, these Bible verses will open your eyes to this.

Ephesians 4:1 says, “Therefore, I a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.”

Listen, if you are in Christ today, you have been called by God. You have a mission by the Lord of the universe, the one who orchestrates time and space, the one who puts everything together and holds everything together. He is the one who is called you, He is the one who is trusting you with this part of his plan. You are worthy, friend, not just because of the great things you have done, but because you have been created by the King of the universe. He has given you a purpose that only you can do – you have value in this world.

Another great verse is Philippians 3:7-8 where Paul says, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.”

Paul was talking about the fact that he was born into this Jewish family with a great lineage, he practiced the law flawlessly, and he did all the right things – but he saw how that was not enough. He came to know Christ and saw what worth really meant. Verse eight says, “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For His sake, I have discarded everything else counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him.”

Our worth is found in knowing Jesus Christ, the one who died for us, who meets all of our needs, and who walks with us through pain. This proves to us that our value is a gift from God and we are special to Him. This compels us to move forward, serve Him, give back, and realize our life is a vessel for Him. As is says in 2 Corinthians, our worth is a “fragile jar of clay”. We are this jar of clay that has been blessed with the ability to house the Holy Spirit himself.

[11:52] Emotional Need #3: The Need to Be Comforted

The third need that I want to share is the need to be comforted. We are going to go through difficulty in this life, there is no way of getting around it. Jesus promised that there would be hard times and He told us that we can trust in Him to overcome these difficulties. We can be grateful when these hard times come up because it can be an opportunity to notice and see God's comfort.

One of my favorite verses on this explains the gift of feeling comfort from God. It gives us an understanding of why we go through hard things and why comfort comes from that. We need to remember in hard times that there is a God that walks with us through our pain and He wants to give us real comfort. This comfort starts by seeing this pain as real and being honest about it. We can come to Him with all of the things we are dealing with and we do not have to pretend to have it all together.

One of the greatest gifts I was ever given as a Christian was that from the very beginning of my walk with the Lord, I felt like I was able to be honest with God. I was 19 and I had just been going through things in my teenage years and I said “God, if you are real, then I want to talk to you honestly about things.” I am grateful that I learned from the very beginning that God is big enough for our questions. He may not answer them right away but He gives us direction and sustains us for one more moment or one more day. He brings people into our path in ways that surprise us.

2 Corinthians 1:3-6 says, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles. So over that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ. Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation. For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you.”

God wants to comfort us because He sees that we are in pain – but the bigger purpose for His comfort is for us to pass it on. We cannot be comforted by people who have not walked where we have been. If someone has not experienced utter devastation and pain, they will not be able to comfort a person who is walking through that. We need to recognize that this is not about us, it is about comforting others who are walking through what you have walked through. I am not belittling the pain if you are in that place but I want to give you even a tiny glimpse of the fact that what you are experiencing is preparing you to be a comforter moving forward. The people who have gone through the roughest things are the greatest comforters. When we talk about worth, God has great promise ahead for you if you have gone through or are walking through immense pain.

The other verse that I want to share about this is Psalm 94:19 which says, “When doubts filled my mind, your comfort, gave me renewed hope and cheer.”

I like this verse because it recognizes that we have doubts and even when we get frustrated, we need to know that God is on our side. This allows us to renew our hope and keep going. There are so many verses in the New Testament that talk about the perseverance we have to have as Christians.

Part of that perseverance is the reality of doubt and wondering if God is there. I was recently talking with a friend who has been a follower of Christ for many years and she very honestly said “What the heck God? When will there be relief here?” It is okay to have those doubts and to bring them before God. When we do this, He is going to comfort us which will give us the renewed hope that will keep us going.

[20:23] Emotional Need #4: The Need For Purpose and Direction

The last emotional need that God can help us with is the need for purpose and direction. As someone who has value, as someone who is loved, as someone who is destined to go through life's ups and downs – it is normal for us to need purpose and direction. It is also very hard to be in a season where you do not know what is next. Many kids in my life are in their early 20s and this is a difficult time. They are pressured with having to know the next steps, yet God works out everything as we move forward. As we drive that car, He can direct it a lot easier than if we just stand aside and ask for specific answers.

This need that we have can be fulfilled by His guidance and trust that He is going to give us the purpose and direction. If we just keep walking and staying faithful to who He is and what He is asking us to do, we will be guided to the people, connections, and interests that are going to direct our lives. I have had so many times in my life where I had no other explanation for it other than it being a divine moment from God.

One of those times for me was when I was in community college. I knew that after the two years there I wanted to go to school for journalism. One day, my journalism professor asked each of us where we wanted to go after the two years, and she listed a few local colleges. I had heard about all of those but then she brought The University of Missouri to my attention. They were the first journalism school ever created and have been ranked number one for 30 years. In that moment, I knew I wanted to go there. It was like God put a spotlight on that school!

I am sharing that to say God will give us direction but what we really need to do is stay faithful and let Him bring it to us in unexpected ways.

Proverbs 19:21 says, “You can make many plans but the Lord's purpose will prevail.” I can think of many times where I wanted something to go a certain way and God corrected or redirected me. His purpose is going to prevail and we can rest in that.

John 10:10 reminds us that His purpose for us is good and it will not destroy or break us down. We may need a little correction and God does not always lead us down a path of rainbows and butterflies, but there is a reason behind this. John 10:10 says, “The thief's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” So while the thief wants to destroy us, God's purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says, “Don't you realize that in a race, everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win. All athletes are disciplined in their training, they do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing, I discipline my body like an athlete training it to do what it should.” We need to run our race with focus and determination and understand that it has value. We need to run with purpose in every step.

[27:50] 3 Ways We Can Use These Scriptures as Therapy

I want to give you just a few quick little ways that you can use these scriptures as therapy in your everyday life to find joy and healing in God's word. First, you can journal about them, reflect on them, and do a deep dive into other related scriptures. I use my “I Am Loved” Bible study and the spiritual growth rhythm to sit with God’s word each day.

Another way you can use these scriptures is to meditate on them using the concept of Christian Meditation. Christian meditation is using God's word and allowing our minds to focus on it. If you are not familiar with the idea of meditation, I invite you to check out my Christian Meditations for Daily Calm resource. This resource allows our minds to shut out everything else and dwell in the beauty and the power of scripture. There are 30 different meditations focused on scripture with beautiful visualizations and a video component. If you want to learn more about Christian meditation, listen to these episodes:

218: New Christian Meditations for Calm! 3.5 Minutes to Refresh Your Mind with God’s Peace

219: Is Christian Meditation Biblical? How Is Christian Meditation Different from Eastern Meditation?

220: How Can Christian Meditation Help You Better Manage Stress?

221: Super Busy? 15 Ways Christian Meditation Can Fit Into Your Daily Schedule

222: How to Manage Emotional Overwhelm with Christian Meditation

The last thing is to be creative with the Scriptures which includes Bible journaling, creating stand-alone art inspired by these verses, or just responding and applying this verse whether that is sharing on social media or encouraging someone else.

[30:52] Emotional Needs Remind Us That It’s Healthy for Us to Stay Dependent on God

As a reminder, it is not wrong to feel these emotional needs, it is what makes us human. Our God wants to intentionally partner with us to have our needs met. His word is full of amazing promises that can help us meet these needs. There are so many other verses that may speak to you so I invite you to use this as a starting point. Use this as a way to get into God's word and to explore. Create a list of verses for yourself and keep them close to you so that you can continuously focus on them. That is what is going to change your mindset and how you view what you are walking through.

If we are being honest, we often want to work ourselves out of a dependence on God. We do not want to have any problems and we do not want to depend on God for our needs. Even the thought of having needs often seems icky because we want to be self-sufficient. This is the biggest lie because we are wired to be dependent on God. Allow yourself to let Him fill you up.

If you want practical steps on what you can do right now to create different habits and mindsets in your life, make sure to download my newest freebie 10 Habits and Mindsets to Cultivate Extraordinary Joy. We are not here to try to create our own joy or work harder to have it, but we are responsible for creating a mind and a body that can best connect with God and His joy. If we stay plugged into the vine, God is the one who is going to provide that fruit of joy. We can learn how to put ourselves in those places with those habits and mindsets to get there.

RESOURCES:

Godly joy is a fruit of the spirit, but our physical, mental, and spiritual states (things we’re in charge of) play a huge role in our ability to receive godly joy. Let me show you 10 practical ways to tap into everyday Christ-centered joy in my new free video training: 10 Habits and Mindsets to Cultivate Extraordinary Joy. Download it now!

Discover how God's love radically changes your identity, your perspective and your ability to find peace in the “I Am Loved” Bible Study!

Need a simple, biblical way to manage overwhelm + stress? Christian meditation is a scientifically proven tool to soothe the nerves + connect with God to restore the soul. Get my Christian Meditations for Daily Calm resource to help you bring more calm into your life.