Many people reach for the phrase “This too shall pass” when life feels unbearable. It sounds deeply scriptural — peaceful, timeless, full of hope. But is it actually in the Bible? And if not, what does God’s Word say about the suffering we all face?
This article answers both questions clearly, so you can stand on truth — not just a comforting cultural saying.
Is “This Too Shall Pass” a Bible Verse?
No. “This too shall pass” is not found anywhere in the Bible.
Many Christians assume it is a scripture because its message aligns so closely with biblical teaching. But no matter where you look — Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms, Proverbs — the exact phrase does not appear.
Where Did the Phrase Actually Come From?
| Possible Origin | Details |
| Persian Sufi Poetry | Many scholars trace it to medieval Persian poets in the mystical Islamic tradition |
| Jewish Folklore | A popular story connects it to King Solomon, who challenged a servant to find something that would make a sad man happy and a happy man sad |
| Western Literature | The phrase became widely known in English literature and eventually entered common Christian speech |
The King Solomon story is the most retold version: a ring was inscribed with the words “This too shall pass” — reminding the wearer that no emotion, good or bad, lasts forever. While a beautiful tale, it is not Scripture.
What is scriptural is the truth behind the sentiment. The Bible is filled with promises that speak to the temporary nature of suffering and the permanence of God’s love. Let’s explore what God actually says.
Bible Origins of “This Too Shall Pass”
Though the phrase is absent from Scripture, several verses carry the same heartbeat. Two of the closest parallels are:
- 1 John 2:17 — “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
- Matthew 24:35 — “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
- 2 Corinthians 4:17 — “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
These passages confirm what the phrase suggests — hardship is temporary, but God’s Word and His glory are eternal. The difference is that Scripture goes much further than just saying “hang in there.” It tells us why we can endure and what God is doing in the middle of the pain.
What God’s Word Says About Suffering
1. We Are Being Renewed Day by Day
When you feel like you’re barely surviving, God sees something different happening inside you.
2 Corinthians 4:16–18 says: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
The apostle Paul, who suffered imprisonment, beatings, and shipwrecks, was not simply telling us to wait it out. He was revealing a spiritual reality: our inner person grows stronger every single day we trust God through pain. Suffering is not erasing you — it is refining you.
When the trial feels long, remember: God is doing a daily work of renewal inside you that no one else can see yet.
2. We Have Victory and Peace Through Christ
Jesus never promised a pain-free life. He promised something better — peace in the middle of the storm.
John 16:33 — “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Philippians 4:7 — “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The peace God offers is not the absence of hardship. It is a supernatural calm that stands guard over your heart even when circumstances have not changed. Christ has already won over every trial you face — you walk through it, not alone, but in His victory.
3. We Are Comforted Through Christ and Able to Comfort Others
One of the most beautiful truths about suffering is that it is never wasted. God receives your pain and transforms it into something that can help someone else.
2 Corinthians 1:3–4 — “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
The comfort you receive in your darkest hour becomes the very comfort you will one day offer someone else in theirs. God does not just get you through — He equips you to help others get through too. Your pain has a greater purpose than you can see right now.
4. We Learn Greater Perseverance, Strength, and Endurance Through Suffering
No one grows strong in easy seasons. Spiritual muscle is built through resistance.
Romans 5:3–5 — “Not only that, but we also glory in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.”
James 1:2–4 — “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
This is not toxic positivity. It is a spiritual law: tested faith produces enduring faith. Every biblical hero — Joseph, David, Paul, Job — was shaped by suffering into someone capable of carrying greater glory. The same is true for you.
5. Suffering Reminds Us Where True Joy and Lasting Hope Are Found
Hard seasons strip away the things we lean on instead of God. When comfort, health, money, or relationships fail, we discover what was holding us up all along.
Psalm 34:18 — “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 62:5 — “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.”
Suffering has a way of drawing us back to the only source of joy that does not depend on circumstances. The world’s comforts are temporary. God’s joy is a well that does not run dry, even in drought.
6. His Power Works Within Us
When you reach the end of your own strength, you discover the beginning of God’s.
2 Corinthians 12:9 — “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Philippians 4:13 — “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Paul wrote Philippians 4:13 from prison — not from a mountaintop experience. He had learned a secret: God’s power operates most powerfully precisely when human strength runs out. Your weakness is not a liability. In the hands of God, it becomes the stage for His strength to show up most clearly.
7. When It Passes, We Will Come Out as Gold
The refining process is real and it produces something beautiful.
Job 23:10 — “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”
1 Peter 1:6–7 — “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
Gold does not come out of the ground pure. It is refined through fire. So is your faith. The heat of suffering burns away what is false and leaves what is real. When this season ends, you will not just survive it — you will come out as something more valuable than before.
8. God’s Faithfulness Endures Through Every Season
He was faithful before this trial. He is faithful in it. He will be faithful after it.
Lamentations 3:22–23 — “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Isaiah 43:2 — “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.”
1 Peter 5:10 — “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
Notice that God does not say “I will prevent the waters.” He says “I will be with you in them.” His faithfulness is not measured by the absence of trials — it is proven in the middle of them.
A Summary: What Scripture Says vs. What “This Too Shall Pass” Says
| “This Too Shall Pass” | What the Bible Actually Teaches |
| Pain is temporary | Pain is temporary AND purposeful (Romans 5:3–5) |
| Things will get better | God is actively working good through it (Romans 8:28) |
| Endure until it’s over | God renews you daily through it (2 Corinthians 4:16) |
| You are not alone | God is present and near (Psalm 34:18) |
| Something beautiful may come | You will come out as gold (Job 23:10) |
Conclusion
“This too shall pass” is not a Bible verse — but it points toward biblical truth. The phrase captures something real: no season of suffering lasts forever. God’s Word, however, goes much deeper than that.
Scripture does not simply say hold on, it will be over soon. It says: God is with you, He is working in you, He is renewing you, He is using this to shape you into something stronger, and one day — on this side or the other — His faithfulness will be fully seen.
So yes, this too shall pass. But more importantly: God will not. His love, His presence, and His purposes will outlast every trial you face.
“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” — Psalm 31:24
