Favorite Bible Verses to Comfort in Grief

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God’s Word provides powerful comfort in grief. Because scripture is alive and active, time in the Word settles our heart and anchors our emotions in loss.

God’s word has many Bible vereses to help us grieve with hope. I’ve asked several author and ministry leader friends who’ve walked through grief from various kinds of loss to share their favorite Bible verses to comfort in grief. These writers and ministry leaders each share a favorite scripture and how that verse impacted their grief.

Favorite Bible Verses to Comfort in Grief

LISA APPELO

“The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deut 33:27)

As brutal as grief is, God gives us a soft landing. In the weeks and months (and years) following my husband’s sudden death, I could palpably feel God’s presence like no other time before. He held me in the palm of His strong hand — a hand that protected me, guided me, provided for our family and kept my foot from slipping. I found that in the most excruciating pain and loss, God tenderly and personally cares for us with hands that always carry us.

Lisa Appelo is a speaker, writer and Bible teacher who’s written at Proverbs 31 Ministries, (in)courage, Risen Motherhood and more. Find her book Life Can Be Good Again: Putting Your World Back Together After It All Falls Apart here. Find Biblically-based hope to begin to move forward through grief in the FREE guide: 7 Days of Hope for Your Shattered Heart.

CHRISTINE CHAPPELL

“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)

When Jesus says, “Now is your time of grief,” He’s acknowledging His disciples’ pain and by extension, ours as well. He doesn’t minimize their sadness, but rather assures them that the sorrows of this world are momentary in comparison to the eternal glory to come. Of all I’m certain to lose in this life, this truest of joys shall ever be mine: nothing—absolutely nothing—can keep me from the eternal embrace of everlasting arms.

Christine Chappell is the Podcast Host of the Hope + Help Podcst at the Institute of Biblical Counseling & Discipleship, Author of Clean Home, Messy Heart: Promises of Renewal, Hope, and Change for Overwhelmed Moms and Help! My Teen is Depressed.

CLARISSA MOLL

“See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:16 NIV)

It’s hard to look at my hands these days. More than a year after my husband’s unexpected death, my hands tell the story of a life that’s gone forever. My engagement ring and wedding band slide loosely around my finger, a constant reminder of how sorrow has stolen my appetite one too many days. I wear my husband’s wedding band also, but it’s far too big. It was meant for a larger, stronger hand. My throat tightens as I twirl his ring around my finger. If I close my eyes, I can almost feel his hand in mine.

Grief has made me feel lost and alone, without a hand to hold. And so I’m grateful that, in my sorrow, I am held by a good Heavenly Father who has engraved my name on the palms of His gentle, trustworthy, almighty hands. My hands only tell part of the story. The fuller version is what I see when I look at His. Whatever befall me, His hands tell me I am beloved and I am safe.

Clarissa Moll is a writer and the young widow of author Rob Moll. Her writing has appeared in Christianity Today, RELEVANT, The Gospel Coalition, Grief Digest, Modern Loss and more. Clarissa offers encouragement and support to grieving people.

DANITA JENAE

“But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” (Psalm 3:3 ESV)

Have you ever seen a sunflower overdue for harvesting? The heavy tear-shaped seeds weigh down the neck of the flower, sinking low. I imagine that’s how I look often. The enormity of the loss manifests in physical pain, across my chest and shoulders. It causes my head to hang low.

But I love how sunflowers are worshippers… how they rise up and follow the sun. I imagine when they’re so full of tears and seeds, that the sun gives them a supernatural strength beyond their own. Psalm 3:3 has held me tight the way the sun holds on to the sunflowers’ heavy chins. He is the Lifter of my Head. When sorrow, exhaustion, hopelessness and tears make my head hang low, I receive this supernatural strength to lift my head and still praise Him. I imagine He lifts my head with both hands cupped around my face and I receive the delight, comfort, and hope in His gaze toward me.

Danita Jenae is a military widow, young mom, author, artist and prayer warrior. She helps the broken-hearted learn to carry both joy and sorrow in the same breath.

DORINA LAZO GILMORE-YOUNG

For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.” (Isaiah 54:5 ESV)

This verse has been one of my favorites for a long time. This verse ushered me through the grief of my husband’s death. I was constantly reminded that I was not alone. He was Immanuel, God with me. He was both my maker and my husband. At times when I had to find courage to parent my children, or to pay bills, or to step into social situations alone, I would whisper these words to myself.

Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young is a speaker, spoken word artist, Bible teacher and mama to 3 passionate girls. She is the author of two Bible studies, Glory Chasers and Flourishing Together as well as the new devotional book, Walk, Run, Soar.

JODI ROSSER

“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 Cor. 1:3-4 NIV)

Her circumstances were all too familiar. Just one year before, I had walked through a heartbreaking divorce too. God had met me in my pain, and now He was asking me to offer comfort and support to her. Sharing my broken story brought purpose to my pain as well as healing to her heart. Friend, God can do the same for you as you share your grief story and help another hurting heart. This is why I love these verses; they hve become my life verse.

Jodi Rosser is host of the Depth Podcast at Heartbreak to Strength blog.

MISSY LINKLETTER

“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. ” (Rev 21:4 ESV)

When our son was killed in a car accident, my grief was nearly unbearable. I wondered if there would be an end to my suffering. Revelation 21:4 gave me peace and assurance that not only will there be an end to our grief, but one day, death will be defeated. What a glorious day that will be!

Missy Linkletter and her family of six live just outside Phoenix, Arizona; she is the Director of Women’s Ministries at Shiloh Community Church. After losing her oldest son in 2017, she began chronicling her journey of grief and hope. Missy is a writer and speaker whose passion is to help women know the true, Living Water that forever satisfies the long soul, Jesus Christ.

JODIE BARRETT

“In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:2-3 ESV)

Grief can chip away our confidence, create doubts where they did not exist before, and Satan knows this to be true, and makes plans to use it against us. When my son was killed suddenly, I grasped God’s word for what it was — life.

Some of the first verses to breathe life into my grief-stricken heart were John 14:2-3. Jesus speaks to the disciples these words that bring me comfort and peace, reassuring me that He has gone before us to prepare a place. As a mom, I know what it is to prepare a place for your children. These verses remind me of His great love for us and the preparations He has done to create our eternal home.

Jodie Barrett is a girl who loves Jesus and sharing his word. Jodie is a wife, mom and a new Gigi. Some of her favorite people are her husband, Thomas, and her adult children, Ryan, who resides in heaven, and Lauren, who resides with her husband, Dylan, and their little man, Kolton. She’s and author of Jingle and Joy: Praying Beneath the Tree and a ministry leader with Faithfully Following Ministries.

SARA R. WARD

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13 NIV)

After my son’s death, I struggled to have hope. I found myself wondering, will I ever be happy again? But over time, I learned that hope isn’t about what I can do for myself. In Romans 15:13, He is called the “God of hope” and this hope is given to us by the “power of the Holy Spirit.” All we need to do is trust in Him.

In this life, we don’t get a pass from suffering. Instead, we get more of Him. In every situation, His hope is enough.

Sara R. Ward is the host of the Made for Hope podcast and is author of the grief book Made for Hope: Discovering Unexpected Gifts in Brokenness and the companion Bible Study. She is a pastor’s wife and mom to three children, including a son who passed away in 2012.

SARAH E. WESTFALL

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18 NIV)

In the moments after learning my son could not survive life outside the womb, I told God, “you either have to be everything you say you are, or I am done. I can’t do this.” Burying a son was not the story i had written. It wasn’t the story I wanted to tell. But as grief hollowed me out in the days and months that followed, God filled the space where my expectations once lived. His presence met me in my broken places, His nearness providing answers this life couldn’t offer.

And as time and lament and the goodness of God provided healing, I began to see being crushed as a gift—not because I lost a son (I will always want him back), but because the grief became an invitation into the Love of the Divine. His presence was not the answer I wanted, but it became the only answer I needed.

Sarah E. Westfall is a writer, speaker, and host of Not My Story, a conversational podcast about faith and the unexpected.

TARA DICKSON

“You have known the troubles of my soul, and have not handed me over to the enemy. You have set my feet in a spacious place.” (Psalm 31:7-8 HCSB)

When my husband moved to Heaven it felt like life fell apart all around us as well. In the midst of the confusion we felt the Lord calling us to leave everything and everyone we had known for the last 25 years and go to the land He was calling us to. Even though they say not to make a major life decision in the middle of fresh grief, we knew God was calling and we had to obey. This obedience has led to life changes only God could imagine. He has worked it for our good over and over again. This verse was one He used to confirm His call to us. The Lord truly is our shepherd. He gives all that we need.

Tara Dickson is a recent widow and mother of four. She began writing after her husband went to heaven in 2016 following a brief battle with brain cancer. What began as a way to testify of God’s goodness during her season of suffering, quickly turned into a passion to equip children and adults with a hope in Jesus to carry them through hard times.

TIMBERLY GRAY

“Peter asked Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’ Jesus replied, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.’” (John 21:21-22 NLT)

When our spiritual parents went home to be with the Lord, we were devastated. We couldn’t see serving in ministry without their guidance. Then I read John 21 where Jesus was describing to Peter the type of death he would have. Peter asked Jesus what about him pointing to John. Jesus’ response struck me to my core. Although I couldn’t comprehend why this was happening, I realized I’m supposed to keep my eyes on Christ and follow Him. My obedience to His will for my life was not dependent on whether or not our mentors were here.

Timberley Gray is the co-founder of Living Our Priorities and a ministry leader along with her husband.

VANEETHA RISNER

“But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.'” (Isaiah 43:1-2 ESV)

This is my go-to passage in suffering because it encourages me not to fear, which is inevitably part of my grief. I’m I’m afraid of the future and this reassures me that because Christ has redeemed me, I need not be afraid. God knows me intimately and calls me by name. He knows all that is hard in my life and will be with me as I endure it, even if it means walking through fire.

Vaneetha Risner is the author of Walking Through Fire: A Memoir of Loss and Redemption in which she chronicles both her bewildering suffering and the breathtaking way Christ met her in it. She and her husband Joel live in Raleigh, NC.

Comments

Sharon says

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Thank you so much for all these beautiful promises! All are my favorites, almost two years since my beautiful Rachel Ruth walked into glory❤️ Psalm 34:18

- Lisa Appelo says
  
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  Sharon, it’s amazing how personal these verses become for us. Grateful you can say, God binds up the deepest wounds.
  
Suzanne N. says

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Still miss my husband after losing him a few years back to brain cancer but so thankful for these shared verses of others loss & grief and know he is well in his eternal home & we will be reunited again! The Lord is my rock, my comfort and my strength!

Pat Rainbow says

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I happened across your website today, Lisa, and was greatly blessed. I lost my husband 11 years ago to brain cancer. I thank God each day that he was so good to give me the husband he did for 38 years. Athough, I often wishour time together in this life had been longer, I realize he was not mine, but tha he was “lent” to me for those years of marriage. Now he is gloriously in the presence of his faithful Savior. A passage that has really helped me in my times of loneliness is from Psalm 73. (The old addage that “time heals” is not untrue. By God’s mercy, I know I am not in the place I was 11 years ago, but even so, I lost a part of my heart when losing my dearest earthly friend.) This is a precious reminder to me each day that I am nevr alone:
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Favorite Bible Verses to Comfort in Grief

Favorite Bible Verses to Comfort in Grief

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