19 Bible Verses on Confidence and Self Esteem

Use these 19 Bible verses on confidence and self-esteem as reminders of your identity in Christ and the strength God gives you as a child of the King.

Before we jump into the Bible verses on these topics, I’d like to take a second to redefine the term self-esteem.

Self-esteem is typically defined as confidence in one’s own worth or abilities.

As a Christian, I define self-esteem as having confidence that I am who God says I am.

If you are anything like me, your low self-esteem could be:

• keeping you quiet when the Lord is asking you to speak up
• hiding your God-given gifts
• convincing you to try to be like everyone else when you were created differently on purpose
• stealing your joy when you go through your days not allowing yourself to live authentically as the person God created you to be
• robbing you of confidence to live the purposeful life God created you for
• convincing you your strengths are actually your weaknesses
• trying to tell you that you’re being humble when really you’re just looking down on yourself and not seeing the image of God built into you
• …and so much moe.

A confidence rooted in Christ is not dependent on my own abilities (because those can be so unreliable!), but instead on knowing that God will equip me for the work He has set out for me to do.

Scripture to Grow Your Confidence & Self-Esteem

It has been vitally important for me to rely on the Truth of these verses. I used to be 100 pounds overweight and I was in an emotionally abusive marriage for 6 years. Both of those things filled me with insecurities, low self-worth, and made me doubt my confidence and value as a person.

I tried so hard, but I just wasn’t good enough.

Don’t give in to that lie!

You are more than enough but don’t take my word for it.

Let’s look at what God’s Word has to say on the subject of confidence and self-esteem.

You may also want to check out these posts on building your confidence in Christ:

• How To Grow Your Confidence In Christ
• 4 Prayers For Confidence
• Identity In Christ: Believing You Are Who God Says You Are
• 27 Bible Verses On Identity
• 21 Encouraging Bible Verses On God’s Love For Us

1. Joshua 1:9 – Be Strong & Courageous

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

When you don’t feel like you’re good enough, it’s easy to want to blend in, hide in the back, and avoid bringing any attention to yourself.

But God commands you to be strong and courageous!

Not in your own abilities or strengths, but because God will be with you wherever you go. You can live in confidence because of His strength.

2. Jeremiah 17:7 – Strong Confidence Comes From Trusting The Lord

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.

Again, the message here is that we don’t have to stress so much about our own weaknesses. We don’t have to be the smartest, the most successful, the most productive, or the most anything.

Our job is to do our best and trust that the Lord will work through that.

And we can have confidence that He always does.

3. Psalm 27:3 – You Can Be Confident Despite Your Circumstance

Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

Can you imagine this scenario?

I’ve never been in the military, but I know exactly how terrifying it feels when hurtful words are thrown at me. Words that cut to the bone and destroy the things you desire most – love, affection, acceptance, security.

Even in those moments when people (or even your own thoughts!) are coming at you with weapons ready to attack, your heart doesn’t have to respond in fear (unless it’s a fear of the Lord – that’s good and godly and increases your confidence in Him!).

Even (and especially) then, you can be confident. You are a child of God and nothing can overtake you.

4. Psalm 139:13–14 – Your Worth Is In Christ

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

Oh, how I love this verse. When everything about me feels wrong and broken and misfit into this world, I can rely on the fact that God created me just the way I am on purpose.

You weren’t a mistake. You were fearfully and wonderfully made by an Almighty God who does everything on purpose.

That right there is enough reason to walk with your head held high!

5. Proverbs 3:25-26 – The Lord Will Be At Your Side

Have no fear of sudden disaster
    or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
 for the Lord will be at your side
    and will keep your foot from being snared.

I don’t know about you, but I second-guess every step I take. Was that the right decision? Am I listening to myself or to God? What if I lose my husband? What if we can’t afford rent?

What if, what if, what if?

Worrying about the future doesn’t help you avoid disaster, but knowing the Lord will be at your side, keeping your foot from being snared, can allow you to live confidently even when you don’t know all of the answers.

6. 2 Chronicles 32:8 – The People Gained Confidence

With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

Have you heard the song “Surrounded” by Upperroom?

The lyrics are simple but powerful.

“It may look like I’m surrounded, but I’m surrounded by You…

This is how I fight my battles.”

And it’s true. Our job is simply to rely on Him and to know that the Almighty God is the one who will fight whatever battles we may be facing in life.

7. Isaiah 32:17 – Confidence Comes From Peace & Righteousness

The fruit of that righteousness will be peace;
    its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t typically associate the words “peace” and “confidence” together.

When I think of confidence, I think of bold, loud, and somewhat confrontational.

But that’s the beauty of the confidence we have in the Lord, right?

It doesn’t look like the confidence we associate with the world. It’s bold alright, but in a way the brings peace and quietness – something beyond our own understanding!

That’s quite soothing to this peacemaker’s heart.

8. Isaiah 40:31 – Hope In The Lord & He Will Carry You Through

but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

God has a record of doing big things with ordinary people.

Moses was not an eloquent public speaker, yet God equipped him as a leader to talk to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.

God equipped David, a teenage shepherd boy, to take down Goliath when there was an army of armored soldiers right there.

If you’re feeling discouraged and weak when it comes to handling the problems in your life, the answer isn’t to give up.

Hope in the Lord.

He is the God of hope. He will renew your strength and show you strengths you never even knew you had!

9. Isaiah 41:10 – Do Not Fear

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Are you starting to see a theme here?

When you’re facing hard things, don’t let fear paralyze you.

Whether you’ve lost a job, are facing difficulties in your marriage, don’t know how you will ever lose all that extra weight you’re carrying, or hundreds of other things that could plague us with worry, “do not fear.“

You’re not called to worry harder. You’re called to choose to believe that God is who He says He is.

He WILL strengthen you.

He WILL help you.

He WILL uphold you.

10. Philippians 1:6 – Place Your Confidence In Christ, Not Your Own Works

being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

From the very beginning, God began a good work in you.

When you’re feeling worthless, discouraged, and defeated, rest in this Truth.

You were created with a purpose – to do good things for the Lord.

He started that good work in you before you were even born and has not stopped carrying on that good in you every single day of your life.

You are good because you are God’s.

11. Philippians 4:13 – God Gives You Strength

I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

I don’t know about you, but I always feel like I have to earn my strength.

• Put in the hours at the gym doing push-ups for strong arms.
• Study hard for good grades to be strong in academics.
• Practice patience over and over again to get stronger in my relationships.

That makes sense to me. Work hard and reap the rewards.

But that’s not what God is saying here.

Your hard work is not the source of your strength – He is.

And that is such a beautiful gift.

12. Ephesians 3:12 – Approach God With Confidence

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.

Did you catch the important word here? Faith.

It’s through our faith that we can experience the fullness of freedom and confidence.

Not by being a better person through good works. Not by trying harder.

By believing. Our faith is the key.

13. 1 Corinthians 2:3–5 – Your Confidence Is In God’s Power, Not Your Own Ability

I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

How incredible is it that this passage acknowledges our human frailty (weakness, great fear, and trembling), but also reassures us that that’s not all we have to rely on.

Our human wisdom, our limited perspective, is so finite. We don’t have faith in ourselves or others. That’s not where our hope rests.

Our confidence comes from our faith resting on God’s limitless, Almighty power that is always working things together for our good.

14. 2 Corinthians 12:9 – Confidence To Boast In Your Weakness

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

This is such a counter-cultural message, but one so important to grasp.

It’s easy to find your flaws and weaknesses, right? And it’s just as easy to take those on as things that define our identity and live in shame, wishing those weaknesses away.

God knows you aren’t perfect. He created you that way on purpose! And those weaknesses you’re trying so hard to cover up and wish away are the very ways God uses His power best in your life.

How would your life change if you could be like Paul and be glad in your weakness because you know Christ’s power is on you all the more?

15. Hebrews 4:16 – Approach God With Confidence

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

I don’t know about you, but my tendency is to try to fix things on my own.

If there’s a problem in my business, my first reaction is to google a way to fix it.

Honestly? That should never be our first reaction to any problem, big or small.

First, approach God, knowing full well and confidently that He knows exactly how to solve your problem and He wants to show you the way.

And then we get to experience the fullness of His endless mercy and grace that always helps us when we need it.

More Bible Verses To Raise Low Self-Esteem

16. Hebrews 10:35–36 – Do Not Throw Away Your Confidence

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.

Sometimes, even when we start a task with confidence, it slowly wanes when we don’t see the immediate results.

Don’t lose your confidence when things don’t work out right away!

Persevere. Keep going. Keep trying. Keep asking, seeking, and knocking.

17. Hebrews 13:6 – Be Fully Convinced To Declare The Lord Is Your Helper

So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?”

This is no small phrase to utter.

Saying something with confidence means that we can stand, unwavering, on the truth we are about to say.

It’s something we believe in and trust in.

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Try it. Say it. Do you believe it?

I know my first response is to think of all of those not-so-small things mortals can do to me – yikes!

But then I re-read the first part. Again and again and again, believing it more boldly each and every time.

God is for me, not against me, and with Him as my helper, I will not be afraid.

18. 2 Timothy 1:7 – The Spirit God Gave You Gives You Power, Love, And Self-Discipline

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Feeling beat down by your insecurities? Like a failure? Not good enough? Like you can’t love your kids well enough or have enough self-discipline to step away from the box of Oreos?

I know when I was 100 pounds overweight, I tried my hardest not to stand out and I felt that lack of confidence profoundly. Even when I wasn’t outwardly hanging my head, inwardly, I was drowning in shame.

But you, sister, have the Spirit of God inside of you. A Spirit that pulls you out of that ocean of shame and gives you power, steadfast love, and self-discipline.

19. 1 John 4:17 – We Have Confidence In Our Future

This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

Every single verse on this list reinforces that we can have confidence because God is enough and, in Him, we are enough.

Even when your doubts, fears, and insecurities are screaming at you to believe something different, stand firm on the Truth.

God is who He says He is. He is your helper, working in your weakness, and carrying out a good work in you every single day of your life.

You have every reason in the world to hold your head high and tackle any difficulty in the world with confidence and self-esteem that rests on Jesus.

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