It’s a fact.

The Bible is the world’s best-selling and most widely distributed book. Its 31,102 verses continue to inspire and encourage people through difficult times.

Based on the Bible verse lists compiled and published by BibleGateway.com, BibleStudyTools.com, and YouVersion.com, here are the seven most popular encouraging Bible verses, taken from the New King James Version (NKJV):

1. Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

If there’s anything we need right now, it’s hope.

Bad news is everywhere. It underscores the fact that we are living in dangerous times. No place is totally safe or peaceful any longer.

We ask: Will we ever return to a time when we can walk the streets without fear of being bombed, kidnapped, shot, or raped? Do we really have a future?

This verse is so encouraging because it shows us that God has good plans for us....

“Please hold me, I’m scared.”

My wife clutched my left arm. “Let’s just pray,” I whispered, as I held her close. The cabin lights were starting to flicker.

I’ve been in dozens, if not hundreds of flights before — air turbulence was nothing new to me. But this was, by far, the most severe. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t the least bit worried or anxious.

The passengers would gasp whenever our ATR-72 twin-engine turboprop would suddenly drop 100 feet or more within two or three seconds.

The people seated to our right — who just moments ago were joking, laughing, and talking about celebrities and sports — were now crying out to Mary and all the saints they can remember.

It was hard to see anything outside…

Just dark cumulonimbus clouds and lightning, signaling a big thunderstorm.

We took off just 25 minutes earlier, as the sun was setting over Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines. Our pilot, Captain Medina,...

One quiet evening many many years ago, I was sitting alone in my room, reading.

Suddenly, a profound realization hit me with the force of a Mack truck. I no longer remember the title of the book, but what I read is etched in my memory forever:

"Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you can only spend it once."
—Lillian Dickson

Twenty words that changed my life forever. I decided at that very moment to find out what life was for in the first place. It just made perfect sense to me.

Socrates once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."

To continue to live my life without a clear understanding of its purpose is like taking a ship to the ocean without a clear destination. I didn’t want to become another ship lost at sea. I didn't want to end up an unhappy old man filled with so many regrets. Before I leave port, I want to know my exact destination. Otherwise, I would be wasting precious time and fuel.

How about you? Have you ever wondered...