10 Comforting Bible Verses for the Death of a Loved One
I light a white candle, and it casts long shadows on the wall. As the flame flickers, I open my Bible in search of comforting Bible verses for the death of a loved one. Close friends recently lost a beloved relative, and the heavy cloud of loss has settled like a cloak over us all.
I wonder if it just might suffocate me.
Comforting Bible Verses for the Death of a Loved One
How do you find comfort in loss when sadness is your constant companion?
Today, we’ll explore 10 comforting Bible verses for the death of a loved one. I encourage you to soak in these words and let God minister to your heart. Be sure to read to the end of today’s post to download a free resource to help you find hope in Christ during times of grief and loss.
10 Comforting Bible Verses for the Death of a Loved One
1. Deuteronomy 31:8
It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.
Look to the One who goes before you and will never leave you.
You might not feel God right now. Don’t give up on him.
He promises to stay with you. Cling to what is true as you process your emotions. God has promised that he will never leave you. He is with you even if you cannot sense his presence. Stand on this promise as you soak in the truth that you are not alone in your grief. He is with you.
2. Psalm 34:17-18
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
God is near.
When our hearts are broken, he is with us. He has not abandoned us, and he wants to bring us comfort.
Perhaps your heart has grown hard toward God as you walk through this dark time. If so, stand on this truth: Jesus is full of compassion. He weeps with those who weep. He cares about you and wants to be your source of comfort.
Pour your heart out to him today. Then, imagine him holding you in his arms as his comfort floods you. He wants to give you strength.
3. Revelation 21:3-4
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 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.”
This world is not the end. Billy Graham describes the journey well with these words:
“Some day you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. . . . I will have gone into the presence of God.”
Have hope and find comfort in grief as you remember this life is not the only life. If you have lost a loved one who has gone to be with Jesus, remind yourself that your future with this person is far longer than your past. This pause is merely a comma, not a period.
4. Job 1:20-21
Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
The purest worship I have ever experienced came in one of the darkest valleys.
The purest worship I have ever experienced came in one of the darkest valleys. #worship #healing #JesusHeals Share on XWorship God in the dark valley of grief.
Lift your heart in worship, and comfort will rain down in a healing flow. I know it’s not easy.
Sometime today, go to a quiet place. Find a worship song that stirs your heart. Sit with God and bless his name. Something will shift in the deepest part of you.
God will begin a great work of healing in you.
More Comforting Bible Verses for the Death of a Loved One
5. 1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
It might feel like your sadness will never lift. It might feel like the grief will always be this heavy.
Some losses leave us feeling sad until we reach heaven. They change the shape of our hearts. They warrant a kind of longing that won’t be met until we reach heaven. Don’t fight this undercurrent of longing.
But don’t give up hope either. God is able to bring a new level of healing to your broken heart, to take away the sharpness of the sting you feel in the early days of grief.
The secret is this: Keep your heart soft.
Don’t grow hard, bury the pain, or take offense toward God.
He is moving in the darkness.
You might be having trouble trusting him with your pain. Instead of blaming him for your heartache, ask him to help you grow in trust.
6. John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
Life is hard. Jesus promised trouble. He also promised that he had overcome the world.
One day, all pain and sorrow will cease.
Cling to the hope you find in Jesus’ promise. You will face grief and find yourself facedown in sadness at times, but a new day is coming when every tear will be wiped away.
Read here for six Bible verses for grief and loss. #grief #Scripture Share on X7. Psalm 139:16
In your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Years ago, while navigating a miscarriage, this verse brought me great comfort.
God writes all of our days before one of them exists. We don’t always understand why God allows loss, but we can trust that he is able to use it for good.
8. Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
As you walk this out, God is gently inviting you to climb higher in trust. In the meantime, he will help you know him in a deeper, more experiential way. He will also make your paths straight and heal your heart. Will you turn to him today?
9. Ecclesiastes 11:5
As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.
We simply cannot understand all of God’s ways.
Take time to grieve this loss. Meanwhile, ask God to help you trust him with what you cannot understand. This is where faith is tested.
10. John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
How do we discern the difference between the work of the enemy and the work of God? Satan steals, kills, and destroys. God brings life and goodness.
God permitted this loss, but he is not a God of destruction and death. This can be a difficult grey area to discern, but rest in this: God is always good. He wants to use this loss for good in your life and the lives of others. He will heal your heart.
Re-framing Grief and Trouble
Keep pressing on, dear one. God has not forsaken you. He hasn’t missed a moment, and he wants to comfort you with his love today.
Perhaps the greatest wonder of it all is that the King of the world is right beside me in my pain. He’s with me as I mourn over the freshly displaced earth, tremble at each phone call, and struggle through the season.
And all the while, he holds out nail-pierced hands and offers us peace.
Peace in the midst of our sadness.
Peace to carry us through the valleys.
The peace of knowing he goes with us.
I invite you to read to the end of this post for a free devotional book to help you apply these comforting Bible verses to your life. I also offer several books to help you lead your children or grandchildren as they deal with grief and other troubles of life.
Calling All Parents (and Grandparents)!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 6, 11, and 15, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. You can find all three books here or read more below.
Calling All Boy Moms (and Dads)!
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Find Our Family Devotionals Here
Find all three books right here. They are also free on the Kindle Unlimited plan, which you can enjoy with a free three-month trial! These books make great gifts, and you don’t need to be the parent of young children to read them. Share them with your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or the young ones you love.
Learn Why Willpower Doesn’t Work and Experience God’s Deliverance and Healing
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. Lean Into Grace: Let God’s Grace Heal Your Heart, Refresh Your Soul, and Set You Free shares practical ways to experience God’s freedom, healing, power, and presence in your life. Find this life-changing book as a free eBook on Kindle Unlimited or for 12.99 in print right here. (If you do not have Kindle Unlimited, you can try it out with a free three-month trial!) This book will transform your life and revitalize your relationship with the Lord!
A Free Devotional Filled With Comforting Bible Verses for the Death of a Loved One
If these comforting Bible verses for the death of a loved one have encouraged you, I have a gift for you. Hope for Hard Days is my free 10-day online devotional to help you hold onto hope when life is tough. You will find 10 readings to help you connect with God and claim his peace. This eBook is filled with comforting Bible verses for the death of a loved one and more. Click here and I’ll send it to your email inbox today for free with promo code HOPE.
