What God Says
What does God say about grief and loss?
God speaks to people who grieve, and He does not tell them to stop. Jesus says those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted, and tells His disciples their grief will turn to joy. He tells a grieving sister that He is the resurrection and the life. God promises to comfort His people as a mother comforts her child, says He has seen their tears, and says from His throne, "Behold, I make all things new."
Here are those passages in His own words, each with its chapter and verse, from the Berean Standard Bible.
On grief and loss
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Luke 6:21 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said, “Do not weep.”
Luke 7:13 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11:25–26 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it 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 welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.”
John 14:1–3 Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
John 16:20–22 “As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you, and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”
Isaiah 66:13 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you! Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me.”
Isaiah 49:15–16 Then the maidens will rejoice with dancing, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, and give them comfort and joy for their sorrow.
Jeremiah 31:13 This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” This is what the LORD says: “Keep your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for the reward for your work will come, declares the LORD. Then your children will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your future, declares the LORD, and your children will return to their own land.”
Jeremiah 31:15–17 “Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. I will surely heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the house of the LORD.”
2 Kings 20:5 And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”
Revelation 21:5 “Comfort, comfort My people,” says your God. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.”
Isaiah 40:1–2 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.”
Isaiah 57:15
These are 14 of the 1,730 passages where God speaks in What God Says: Every Word God Speaks in the Bible, Genesis to Revelation, from Biblee Publishing. Every one is printed in the book exactly as it appears here.