9 Bible Verses about Grief

Life often catches us off-guard with its messiness. Grief intrudes into our lives, whether it’s through the loss of a loved one because of death, or the heartbreaking end of a relationship. When grief and loss come into our lives, it isn’t something that comes and goes in an orderly fashion – you don’t simply get over a loss in a predetermined period. In this article, we’ll look at nine Bible verses about grief to find hope and healing from the Lord.

What can hurt even more than the initial grief is when the people around us begin to feel that we’ve been grieving too long.

Some have identified seven stages of grief:

• pain and guilt
• anger and bargaining
• depression
• shock and denial (in which you’re in a state of disbelief and numbed feelings)
• the upward turn
• reconstruction and working through
• acceptance and hope

However, these don’t always progress in a linear manner, some may be experienced more than once, and some may not be experienced at all. (Of course, this calls into question whether they should really be called “stages of grief.” Perhaps “features of grief” might be a better term.)

Bible Verses About Grief

Whatever one thinks of the “stages of grief,” it remains true that grief is a process. It’s not healthy to remain in one place for too long, the process is often unpredictable, and sometimes gains are reversed, but in our seasons of grief, the Bible gives us wisdom, along with words to comfort and encourage us. We grieve over many situations, and the Bible addresses many of these occasions. Consider the following Bible verses about grief.

A time for everything

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 tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. – Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

These verses are a reminder to us that in life we will go through a variety of circumstances. No one season, whether good or bad, lasts forever. When you’re going through good times, such a reminder sobers us to the reality that grief is a present or future possibility in our lives and others’ lives. If we are in a season of grief, this is a reminder that now may be a time to weep, but this too will not stay the case forever. A time to laugh shall come our way, in due season.

Resting in God while grieving

The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. – Psalm 18:2

We need a place we can turn to when we are going through the dark valleys of our souls. Having hidden in literal caves to escape death from King Saul, David knew the value of having a safe hiding place. God was David’s entirely trustworthy and reliable refuge in all circumstances.

God is familiar with our heart’s inmost cries. Our feelings of fear, anger, frustration, and everything else are safe in his hands. A similar scripture is another of David’s prayers in Psalm 9:9, which says “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”

God is near

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

Not only is God a safe place for us to bring our feelings of confusion, hurt, and anger while we grieve, but this Psalm reminds us that God is near to those who are brokenhearted. For someone who is grieving, the thought of going through it all alone, without support, or without someone who can stand beside them and tell them that they are not alone, only adds to the burden of grief.

God, through his Holy Spirit, “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” (1 Corinthians 1:4). Not only is God comforting us through our own challenges, but he provides us with wisdom to comfort others when they go through tough times.

Weep with those who weep

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. – Romans 12:15

Not only is God with his people when they go through times of grief but his people, too, are called to weep with those who are weeping. The community of God’s people is often the means through which God ministers his comfort and peace to the brokenhearted. We ought to stand together as a community in our times of joy and in our times of sorrow.

Grief is hard

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and body also, – Psalm 31:9

Grieving is hard on the body and the soul. It’s not uncommon for people who are grieving to lose weight, become lethargic, and lack the motivation to do the things that used to excite them. Food no longer seems appetizing, and life loses the vibrant color it once possessed. It’s important to try and maintain your health even in this season of grief.

When the prophet Elijah went through a rough season, the regimen that the Lord put him through was simple but effective – sleep, wake up and eat, sleep again – rinse and repeat. Getting good rest and making sure you’re well-nourished are important steps to take under normal circumstances, and all the more so when grieving.

Jesus has borne our griefs

Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. – Isaiah 53:4

Jesus understood what it meant to bear sorrows. He was betrayed by his friends (and the humans that he created), His friend Lazarus died, and He was grieved by what human rebellion had done to the world. He knows intimately what it is like to be human, except He did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). But He also took upon himself our sorrows and the weight of our brokenness.

Do not grieve as unbelievers do

But we do not want you to be uninformed about believers who have died so that you will not grieve like people who have no hope. – 1 Thessalonians 4:13

The loss of a loved one is an event that can threaten to destroy our hope. But we are reminded that we have hope – the hope of being with God after death, and hope of resurrection into a new life and new bodies (1 Corinthians 15). Our loved ones who died and knew the Lord are with the Lord. So, when we grieve, our grief is different because we know they are with the Lord, which is better by far (Philippians 1:23)

If our loved ones did not know the Lord, we continue to entrust them and ourselves into the Lord’s hands, praying as Abraham did, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25). Our grief is anchored in hope.

It should be noted here that the true joy and hope of heaven is not that we will see our loved ones again (although that will be a joy). The truest and greatest joy of heaven is that we will see our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ face to face. As we find our true joy in Him in this life, so in the next life we will enjoy Him forever in heaven. He, and He alone, is the true glory of heaven.

Our grief shall turn to joy

Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy… 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 16:20,22

The night when Jesus was arrested, he spent time with his closest followers. He wanted to assure them that even though a really difficult time lay ahead with his arrest and brutal death at the hands of the Romans, their grief was not going to be permanent.

Death was not the end for Jesus. He was raised from death, and that has continued to give shape to Christian hope. Though we go through difficult seasons, if God could turn a tragedy such as Jesus’ death into a victory, then what else in our lives may bring us sorrow now, but will be turned into victory by God?

Ultimately, as we’ll see in the last verse, all our grief will turn to joy. Grief, loss, and death will not have the final say.

No more death or mourning

He will wipe away 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

At the end of all things, God will make things right. When you’re going through a dark tunnel, having some light with you makes all the difference in the world. In our present moments of crying, pain, and mourning, it is some comfort for us to know that this present world and way of things shall come to pass, and EVERY tear will be wiped from our eyes. This present darkness will not last forever, no matter how deep and unrelenting it may seem. Death has been defeated.

“Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” – 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

Finding Support for Your Grieving Process

If you’re looking for additional support beyond these Bible verses about grief, consider reaching out to a Christian grief counselor in your area. Browse our online counselor directory or contact our reception team to find a faith-based grief therapist near you to walk with you through your grieving process.