Bible Verses About Grief to Help You Mourn the Loss of a Loved One

Mourning is a painful process, but trusting in God can help you get through it. The Scriptures contain many Bible verses about grief that offer comfort and hope to the believer and that can encourage you as you confront the emotions surrounding your loss.

Within the Scripture there is balm for every wound, a salve for every sore. – Charles Spurgeon

Bible verses about grief

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. – Ecclesiastes 3:1-4, NIV

Death is part of the cycle of life in this fallen world. With it comes a season of grief for those left behind. Everyone will experience it at one time or another. Grieving is part of being human, and is a natural and important process God uses to bring us to a place of healing and wholeness.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18, ESV

God is always by your side, even when you feel alone and overwhelmed by sorrow. He understands your grief and wants to comfort you and heal your broken heart through Bible verses about grief.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, ESV

God comforts and encourages us in our grief so that we can do the same for others in their time of sorrow. Sharing the comfort you received with people who are also hurting can bring purpose to your pain and help you work through your grief.

You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? – Psalm 56:8, ESV

Your thoughts and feelings matter to God. He notices your sorrow and grieves with you. God values your tears and collects every one of them in a bottle.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. – Revelation 21:4, ESV

There is no more death or suffering or pain in heaven. When we get there, God Himself will wipe away all our tears.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though they die. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” – John 11:25-26, ESV

Everyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ receives the gift of eternal life in heaven.

Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about people who have died so that you won’t mourn like others who don’t have any hope. Since we believe that Jesus died and rose, so we also believe that God will bring with Him those who have died in Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, ESV

For those who have placed their faith in Christ, death does not mean goodbye forever. The resurrection of Jesus is tangible proof of the future resurrection of all believers who have died. Therefore, Christian grief is different from the grief of unbelievers. The heartache we feel at not being able to share any more earthly experiences with our departed Christian loved ones can be combined with the future hope that we will one day be reunited with them for all eternity.

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, NIV

Jesus does not minimize our pain and sadness but rather assures us that this season of mourning is only a temporary one. Grief is just a momentary sorrow compared to the eternal joy to come.

His anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. – Psalm 30:5, ESV

Even though it may not feel possible, healing will come. Your grief will not last forever. No one can pinpoint the duration of the grieving process, but in due time God will lift you out of the depths of your sorrow, and you will be able to feel joy again.

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. – John 14:27, NIV

God wants to heal your grieving heart and replace your sorrow with His peace that surpasses understanding.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true. “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” – 1 Corinthians 15:54-55, NIV

Jesus conquered death through His sacrifice on the cross. All who put their trust in Him have the promise of eternal life.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. – Psalm 46:1-3, ESV

When you are overwhelmed by your grief and feel too weak and exhausted to go on, run into your Heavenly Father’s arms for refuge. Cling to Him. God is the source of your strength.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. – John 14:1-4, NIV

Jesus wants us to trust Him even in the midst of our anguish over the loss of our loved ones. They are already with Him in the place in Heaven where He has gone to prepare a place for us.

Jesus wept. – John 11:35, NIV

Even Jesus experienced grief. He wept openly when He arrived at the house of his friends Mary and Martha and found them mourning the loss of their brother, Lazarus.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not, Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. – Isaiah 53:3-5, ESV

Jesus experienced sorrow and grief. He can truly empathize with our anguish.

Grief counseling

If you are looking for additional support beyond what the above Bible verses about grief can provide, please consider giving one of the faith-based counselors in our online directory a call. They would be happy to answer your questions, and/or set up an appointment to meet with you.

Grief counseling offers a safe space to talk about your feelings with a trained mental health professional who can walk alongside you and help you navigate your way through this difficult journey.