10 Passages to Read in the Face of Global Conflict

This article is part of the Passages to Read series.

1. Psalm 46

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
⁵ God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
⁶ The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
⁷ The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
⁸ Come, behold the works of the LORD,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
¹¹ The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Read More

2. Isaiah 43:1–5

¹ But now thus says the LORD,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
³ For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
⁴ Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
⁵ Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
Read More

3. John 16:31–33

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? ³² Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. ³³ I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Read More

4. Psalm 31:14–24

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
¹⁶ Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your steadfast love!
¹⁷ O LORD, let me not be put to shame,
for I call upon you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go silently to Sheol.
¹⁸ Let the lying lips be mute,
which speak insolently against the righteous
in pride and contempt.
¹⁹ Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind!
²⁰ In the cover of your presence you hide them
from the plots of men;
you store them in your shelter
from the strife of tongues.
²¹ Blessed be the LORD,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
²² I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
when I cried to you for help.
²³ Love the LORD, all you his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
²⁴ Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD!
Read More

5. 2 Corinthians 4:7–10

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸ We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
Read More

6. Psalm 56

¹ Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
² my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
³ When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
⁴ In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
⁵ All day long they injure my cause;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
⁶ They stir up strife, they lurk;
they watch my steps,
as they have waited for my life.
⁷ For their crime will they escape?
In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
⁸ You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book?
⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
¹¹ in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
¹² I must perform my vows to you, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
¹³ For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
Read More

7. Isaiah 2:2–4

² It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the LORD
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
³ and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
⁴ He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
Read More

8. John 14:27

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Read More

9. Psalm 27:1–7

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
² When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
³ Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
⁴ One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.
⁵ For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.
⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
⁷ Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
Read More

10. Revelation 22:20–21

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! ²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.
Read More