While some grievers may be craving words of hope, others just need to know that God sees them and cares about their pain. The Bible is full of verses that show how tender God is to people who are suffering.
These are some of the verses that helped me the most after Greg died:
Psalm 34:14
"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. "
Psalm 56:8
"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?"
Psalm 63:8
"My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me."
Isaiah 53:3
"He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not."
2 Corinthians 1:8b-9
"For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead."
Lamentations 3:22-24
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
"The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”"
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
"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. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Revelation 21:1-4
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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.”