Scripture Brought Me Comfort on Hard Days

What Scripture verses do you turn to in hard times? Andrea Bear shares how God provides the exact messages we need and speaks according to each situation. 

When a loved one passes away, emotions of the bereft vary from person to person. One individual may feel heartache, be unable to function, or experience fatigue. Another person may try to stay busy for survival because the emotions of grief are too painful. And others may feel nothing. The shock of loss takes the body a while to catch up. Grief can be accompanied by many emotions, so a person may feel one or a variety of these experiences, leaving them jumbled and confused. 

God understands and provides comfort

Yet our heavenly Father knows we have different experiences and thus He provides ways for us to cope with loss, particularly through holy Scripture. One of the most popular Bible verses about grief comes from the Sermon on the Mount:

“Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

The Beatitudes provide a reminder that Jesus blesses us and will meet us in our suffering.  He will console us if we allow Him. 

In my own experiences with grief, that verse has been a great comfort. Yet with specifics losses particularly the death of my mom six years ago to brain cancer and this summer the loss of my father to complications of muscular dystrophy I found solace in different Scripture verses fitting to each of them.  

Different reactions in times of grief

My mom’s loss was very sudden and immediate. Grief felt very much like the tides of an ocean, flowing in and out, crashing in unknown places. At times I was unable to function. Yet my feelings for my dad were one of peace after a great storm. He had endured so much suffering over the course of his health battles that even till the end he was courageous. When he died, I felt a sense of peace that he no longer had to endure the unbearable.  

Having different reactions with grief are common. Maybe the experiences of grief felt different for me because the relationships with each of my parents brought unique situations, or maybe it’s because my mom’s loss prepared me for my dad’s, or maybe it was a little bit of both. Whatever the case, I turned to Scripture, and each time God’s words gave such great comfort and understanding.  

The verse that comforted me during my mom’s passing was from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah:   

They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on eagles’ wings. 
They will run and not grow weary, walk, and not grow faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

My mom and I were very close. and the bond we shared was so strong that when she died, I felt broken and hopeless.  Because I felt orphaned and lacked direction, this verse taught me not to give up, to keep relying on God even when I felt completely exhausted in my despair. It gave me the hope to carry on and help my living parent who was still battling his own health issues.   

When my father died, a different verse surfaced: 

I command you: be strong and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9) 

Unlike my bond with my mother, my relationship with my father was more complicated. Both headstrong, we butted heads — but toward the end of his life we grew closer and healed our differences. I learned to respect and admire all the qualities I initially didn’t value. His courage during his illness was admirable. He even modeled the Scripture verse that spoke to me of my mother: Isaiah 40:31. He never gave up hope; he never gave up the fight; and despite all, God was with him the whole time. With his loss I gained a sense of strength, as if God had transferred his fortitude over to me.   

With each circumstance in our life God gives us sacred words to direct our course. The beauty of Scripture is how verses evolve in meaning over the course of circumstance. Through prayer, lectio devina, and asking for God’s wisdom, God shows us how the Scriptures can provide the right direction we need. But how does know when God gives the right message? Whether in times of difficulty or in times of joy, God often provide words that direct us back to Him.   

Has God presented a Scripture verse to you in your own losses? What holy words comfort you? 

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Copyright 2024 Andrea Bear
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