Grief is a natural emotional response to loss or tragedy. In times of deep sorrow, many find comfort and hope in God’s Word. Here are some key Bible verses about grief:
Psalms 34:18 – The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
This verse reminds us that God understands our pain and is always near, even when grief feels overwhelming. He cares deeply and can bring healing to our broken hearts.
John 14:1 – Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
Jesus encourages us to trust in Him during times of grief and trouble. Though it is hard, He asks us to believe that He will help us through our sorrow.
Matthew 5:4 – Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
This Beatitude affirms that comfort and blessing can come even out of loss. God draws near to us in our grief and can bring joy again in His timing.
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.
We are promised that God will comfort us in grief so that we can pass on that comfort to others. Our pain can equip us to minister to those who mourn.
Psalm 73:26 – My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
When grief saps our physical and emotional strength, this verse reminds us that God remains our source of power and hope. He is always faithful.
Isaiah 41:10 – 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.
God assures us that we do not have to face grief alone. He is personally present to empower and sustain us at all times.
Psalm 147:3 – He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
The Bible makes clear that God deeply cares about those hurting from loss. He takes a personal role in mending and restoring the brokenhearted.
1 Peter 5:7 – Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
This verse encourages us to release the grief and worry we carry to the Lord. He welcomes those burdens because of His deep love.
Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
We can take courage, even in the pain of loss, because God walks with us through every dark valley. He will comfort and protect us.
Matthew 11:28 – Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Jesus invites all who are heavy-laden with grief to come find rest in Him. He offers hope and respite to the weary.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 – We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
Though grief may come, these verses remind us that overwhelming loss cannot separate us from God’s love. He remains faithful through all trials.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 – Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
The hope of resurrection sets Christian grief apart. We grieve knowing those in Christ will live again and death is not the end.
Revelation 21:4 – He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
This verse describes the glorious future when Christ will abolish grief forever. For now, we can look ahead to that promise and find comfort.
Romans 8:38-39 – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing, including grief, loss or death, can sever us from God’s perfect love. He is with us in suffering and will redeem it.
Psalm 30:5 – For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Though nights of grieving come, joy ultimately triumphs. God’s favor outlasts any loss, and He will turn our mourning into joy.
Isaiah 57:1-2 – The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death.
God has compassion on those He calls home, sparing them from future grief. We can trust they are at peace in His presence.
Ecclesiastes 3:4 – a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.
Grief has its season which gives way to joy again. God beautiful works all of life’s rhythms for good.
Psalm 119:50 – My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
When grief threatens to overwhelm, God’s faithful promises strengthen and sustain us.
Psalm 71:20 – You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again.
This psalm praises God’s power to restore even after devastating loss. He revives the grieving spirit.
Psalm 18:28 – You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
In the darkest nights of the soul, God is able to relight our spirit and bring hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 – Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
This passage provides the hope of reunion for those grieving. All believers will resurrect and unite in God’s presence.
Romans 5:3-5 – Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know 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, who has been given to us.
Though grief produces suffering, God can use it for our good. It yields perseverance, character and even hope.
Philippians 4:6-7 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Releasing our grief to God in prayer grants us peace. He calms anxious hearts.
John 16:20-22 – Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Jesus compares grief over His death to labor pains. Sorrow prepares joy at the coming resurrection.
Psalm 9:9-10 – The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
God is a safe shelter for all grieving oppression or tragedy. He never abandons us in suffering.
Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Though grief springs from harm, God promises to redeem it for good. He has hopeful plans to restore our future.
Matthew 11:29-30 – Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Jesus offers comfort to the heavy-hearted. In Him we find respite from burdensome grief.
Psalm 22:24 – For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.
The psalmist praises God for hearing the cries of those grieving affliction. He is always attentive.
Psalm 31:9-10 – Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.
The depth of the psalmist’s grief shows that God welcomes raw, honest lament. We can pour out our true feelings.
Lamentations 3:31-33 – For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.
Though God allows grief for a time, His love limits it. He desires to restore joy through His compassion.
Isaiah 53:3-4 – He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
Christ suffered grief and rejection to redeem our own. His mercy meets us in our darkest places.
2 Samuel 12:15-23 – After Nathan had gone home, the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and spent the nights lying in sackcloth on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them. On the seventh day the child died. David’s attendants were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they thought, “While the child was still living, he wouldn’t listen to us when we spoke to him. How can we now tell him the child is dead? He may do something desperate.” David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves, and he realized the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. His attendants asked him, “Why are you acting this way? While the child was alive, you fasted and wept, but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat!” He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
David’s raw grief over his son’s illness shows honest engagement of emotions. His hope of resurrection comforts.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44 – So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
The hope of resurrected bodies assures that grief over death is temporary. Greater glory is coming.
Revelation 7:17 – For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
In eternity, God Himself will tenderly wipe every tear caused by grief. Sorrow will be forever healed.
In times of grief, we can turn to God’s Word for strength, hope and peace. He knows our sorrows, collects our tears, and promises everlasting joy. By clinging to Christ, the brokenhearted find comfort that endures.