Bible Verses about Loss for Various Stages of Grief

Loss can be an experience that has many different shades of meaning and depth, as well as context. When you find yourself in the throes of loss the intensity of different emotions can feel like an internal war. The participation can be isolating, overwhelming, and not easily defined by any verb known. Below I have collected a variety of Bible verses about loss to reflect the different stages of bereavement, grief, and resolve that can offer solace to your unique sense of loss and the struggle.

Bible Verses about Loss

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. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. – Psalm 34:17-20

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. – Matthew 5:4

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who 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. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. – 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. – Matthew 5:1-12

Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment. – 2 Peter 2:9

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. – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. – Isaiah 61:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:1-3

I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. – Jeremiah 17:10

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body. – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” – Isaiah 40 1-5

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. – Romans 8:1

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior; To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. This is why I left you in Crete so that you might put what remained into order and appoint elders in every town as I directed you. – Titus 1:1-5

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. – 1 John 2:2

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9

Or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). – Romans 10:7

To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. – Matthew 25:15

Your hands fashioned and made me, and now you have destroyed me altogether. Remember that you have made me like clay; and will you return me to the dust? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? You clothed me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit. – Job 10:8-12

Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech so that he drove him out, and he went away. I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together! I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. – Psalm 34 1:4

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. Oh, that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! – Psalm 119: 1-3

You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? – Psalm 56:8

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. – Matthew 16:25

Then Nathan went to his house. And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. David, therefore, sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. On the seventh day, the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead. – 2 Samuel 12:15-23

I hope that through these Scriptures and Bible verses about loss you were able to find one or two that were able to speak to a secret place inside you to assuage the heartache. When we experience loss, we begin a journey towards pain, sorrow, resolve, anger, and sometimes great confusion. Through the fog the words of our Lord can help guide us to calmer seas. He is witness to your pain and loss and through the words of the past, He can comfort you in the present.

Christian Grief Counseling

If you’re looking for grief counseling beyond these Bible verses about loss, feel free to contact me or one of the other counselors listed in the counselor directory. We’d be happy to help!