Scripture Verses and Other Quotes for Dealing with Loss

We can never get used to death. Even the death of a loved one who has lived a long and full life, or when a loved one succumbs to a long and serious illness, we still struggle with the reality and seeming finality of death. Loss comes our way in many different forms, but whichever way it comes, moving through grief is how we can begin dealing with loss.

Grief doesn’t happen in controlled or predictable ways. You might think that you’re over feeling angry at God or your loved one, and then fresh waves of pain hit you unexpectedly on during the holidays or because of a familiar scent that evokes memories of your loved one. Dealing with loss isn’t tidy, and instead of trying to rush through the grieving process or past it as our culture sometimes tells us to do, it’s wiser to let the process simply unfold.

As we walk through grief, it’s important to remember that our journey will not look the same as anyone else’s. Our relationship with the person we lost was unique, and their loss and how we feel and process that loss will also be unique. Having said that, we can still glean a lot from others who have grieved in one way or another and have also walked the journey of grief.

Bible Verses and Quotes for Dealing with Loss

Sometimes, a nugget of homespun wisdom from a fellow traveler will work to give you perspective, the words you need when you lack your own, or bring the simple comfort of knowing that you’re not the only one who has felt these feelings or thought these thoughts while grieving.

Psalms In the Bible, the book of Psalms functioned as the prayer and hymnbook of God’s people. The entire range of human emotions is to be found there in the crucible of pain, loss, and exultant experiences of life. In some cases, people experienced loss because of war, sometimes due to famine; at times deep betrayals were the cause of grief. And so, the words of the Psalms below are expressions of real pain, and real hope amid that grief.

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. – Psalm 9:9

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. – Psalm 34:18

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. – Psalm 73:26

New Testament

In the New Testament, we encounter Jesus, the One who is described elsewhere in the Bible as a “man of sorrows, familiar with grief.” It is comforting to know that God knows what it feels like to experience loss and death because he walked among us in the person of Jesus Christ. We are not alone; God is with us in our struggles and is our comfort. God’s invitation to us is to find rest in him when we are overwhelmed.

The following verses from various places in the New Testament remind us of God’s love, comfort, and nearness to us, especially when we’re dealing with loss. They also remind us of the bigger picture and the new thing God is doing – defeating death through Jesus.

God 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

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 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. – Matthew 11:28-30

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. – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

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

More wisdom from fellow travelers

The Bible gives us wisdom for dealing with loss and grief. But we have also been given wisdom through other people who have experienced grief and reflected upon it. In these words, we can find echoes of our own cries, words that voice our own doubts and pain.

One of the most famous reflections on grief is C.S. Lewis’s A Grief Observed. He authored the book under a pseudonym after his wife Joy passed away from an illness. In it, he wrote movingly as a man and as a husband going through profound loss.

The book reads very differently from his more academic (and still profound) treatment of the topic of suffering in The Problem of Pain. Below are quotes from A Grief Observed, in which Lewis reflects on grief – what it feels like to experience the loss of a loved one and yet still try to keep on living.

• “The death of a beloved is an amputation.”
• “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. I am not afraid, but the sensation is like being afraid. The same fluttering in the stomach, the same restlessness, the yawning. I keep on swallowing. At other times it feels like being mildly drunk, or concussed. There is a sort of invisible blanket between the world and me. I find it hard to take in what anyone says. Or perhaps, hard to want to take it in. It is so uninteresting. Yet I want the others to be about me. I dread the moments when the house is empty. If only they would talk to one another and not to me.”
• “Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.”

A quote from online that reflects deep biblical and personal wisdom reads,

“Contrary to what a lot of people believe (or hope), comfort doesn’t take the pain away. Comfort slides in beside the pain, pulling up a chair so that we have something more than sorrow in our hearts. Comfort gently expands our spirits so that we can breathe again. Comfort opens our eyes so that we can see possibility again. And on those days, whether it is the next day or five years removed, on that day when grief rears its dark head again, comfort helps us remember that pain is not all there is. Comfort opens our eyes so that we can see possibility again.”

A final good thought for us as we walk through grief: “On the days when the grief is there, I know that joy will also come. It’s easy to feel that I’ll always be sad because of the weight of things. But that’s not true. The sad times, the times of grief, are hard, but our loving Father will walk with us through them. He’ll bring good – joy!! – into our lives in ways that only He can. How grateful I am for His lovingkindness!”

Christian Grief Counseling

If you’re looking for additional support dealing with loss and grief, feel free to browse our counselor directory to find a Christian grief counselor who can help you walk this journey. You don’t have to walk alone; hope and support are available to you.