One of the most comforting Bible verses about grief for me is, “Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5). It reminds me that God’s perspective is eternal even when ours is limited by our pain and grief.
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Close to the Grief-Stricken
Your world has been rocked by the news. Your adrenaline kicks in to keep you focused on the tasks at hand… the planning, preparing, who to call, when to hold the service. So much is going through your mind the first few hours, days are a blur, this might last for weeks. But then…reality sets in. They are really gone. The one you love is no longer here.
They will not be around to call with a special secret, give a long embrace, enjoy an extravagant meal, share life’s beautiful moments or even argue with them during a petty disagreement. Dreams of a hope and future feel gone in an instant.
Losing someone you care so much for can cut your heart into a million pieces. A season of life that everyone who lives long enough will experience many times over. The feeling of grief. When everything settles, all you are left with is a deep sense of sadness and suffering. A feeling that will essentially redefine who you are, and how you think about your own future.
So what does the Bible say about our times of sorrow? Bible verses about grief like this one, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) tell us so much about the love and support God brings to our lives.
God will never leave us. He is with us through our hardest times. He is the rock we stand on, the shoulder we cry on, and the hand that will pick us up again! This life brings us daily challenges, but grief is one of the most difficult seasons to get through.
There are so many Bible verses about grief that can reassure us. Knowing that God is always by your side can turn such a tragedy into a song; a song of rejoicing that your loved one is close to the Father. They no longer have to endure the many pains that make up our life on earth, but have a new life where no illness, disease, or pain can harm them.
I know that it may seem as though the soul crushing pain will never end, but I pray these Bible verses about grief will bring you some measure of comfort, to help get you through the time of losing your loved one, and move into the time of rejoicing about the future when you will see them again. May He bless you abundantly!
Old Testament Verses
The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
~ Psalm 9:9
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
~ Psalm 116:15
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit
~ Psalm 34:18
Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
~Psalm 30:5
You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.
~ Psalm 18:28
Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.
~ Psalm 55:22
My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.
~ Psalm 119:50
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
~ Psalm 73:26
One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
~ Psalm 27:4-5
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.
~ Lamentations 3:31-33
When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have a refuge.
~ Proverbs 14:32
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?
~ Hosea 13:14
New Testament Verses
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
~ Romans 8:16-17
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
~ 2 Corinthians 5:6-8
I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
~ Philippians 1:23-24
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~ Romans 8:38-39
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
~ Romans 14:8
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
~ Matthew 5:4
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.
~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
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.
~ Revelation 21:4
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
~ Romans 8:18
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
~ 1 Thessalonians 4:13
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
~ 1 Peter 5:6-7
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.
~ John 16:22
I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
~ 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed…So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.
~ 1 Corinthians 15:52-54
