The Bible does not play down that there is a lot of grief and sorrow in this world. When humanity first sinned against God, suffering and death entered God’s good creation. We are facing the consequences every day.
But the bible has more to say about this topic – for example how it is possible to rejoice in the midst of sorrow, and how God will ultimately create a new earth where grief and sorrow will be no more. We collected 10 quotations[1] for you.
1. Psalm 31:9-10
Being a child of God does not protect us from sorrow. But we know that God is our absolutely good and almighty Father, and we can cry out to Him in our pain like David did:
“Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.”
2. Psalm 88:9
“My eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon You, O Lord; I spread out my hands to You.”
We can be sure that God hears our cries!
3. Lamentations 3:31-33
Sometimes the Lord grieves us to discipline us. But this is only because He loves us…
“For the Lord will not cast off forever,
but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion
according to the abundance of His steadfast love;
for He does not afflict from His heart
or grieve the children of men.”
4. 2 Corinthians 7:10
Sometimes grief can indeed be a blessing, if it leads us to God:
“… godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
5. Psalm 32:10
While God’s children do experience sorrow, there is always God’s love to support them. This is very different for people who don’t believe in Him!
“Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.”
6. Isaiah 53:3-4
The prophet Isaiah tells us about the coming Messiah, who will bear our griefs:
“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.
Surely He has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed Him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.”
7. Matthew 26:38-39
In the Gospels, it becomes clear that this promised Messiah is Jesus Christ. Matthew records His intense suffering on our behalf:
“Then He said to them, My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with Me. And going a little farther He fell on His face and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Jesus bore our sorrows and griefs to the end, till He finally cried out “It is finished”, bowed His head and died.
8. John 16:20-22
Jesus doesn’t play down the fact that His disciples will have to endure sorrow in this world, especially when Jesus is leaving them. But this sorrow will turn into eternal joy!
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being 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 your joy from you.”
9. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
It is good to mourn when a loved one dies, since death is horrible. It is the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26). But the good news is that this enemy will be destroyed! Therefore:
“… you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”
– that is, those who have died before Jesus returns.
10. Revelation 21:3-4
The last book of the Bible gives us a glimpse of the future God has in store for His children – a future without grief and sorrow!
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.”
[1]Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.