47 Uplifting Grief Quotes for Dealing with Loss & Pain

There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.

Share this:

Are you currently experiencing grief and need some words of encouragement to comfort you?

Or are you looking for quotes you can share with a family member or friend who just lost a loved one?

In this article, we share with you 47 grief quotes to help you and other people deal with loss and pain.

We carefully selected them to provide you with relief you need during these times. Some are from the Bible, while others are from people who have experienced grief themselves.

Before we get to the quotes, let us share with you the benefits of reading grief quotes.

What are the Benefits of Grief Quotes?

Grief is not a bad thing. At some point in time, all people will experience grief. After all, loss is inevitable—particularly the death of a loved one. But even if we feel lonely and sad, we must find a way to face our grief and eventually move on.

Reading inspirational grief quotes is one way to cope with the feelings of sadness and melancholy. They help us see things in a different light and realize that other people are feeling the same things we are.

Grief quotes serve as a reminder that if other people can recover, then so can you. Moreover, they help you appreciate the present even more and build stronger connections and relationships with those around you.

Grieving can be tough, but knowing that there are other people who can understand what you are going through helps make things easier.

So now, let us check out some of the best grief quotes you can meditate on or share with your loved ones when experiencing grief.

  1. “The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over' the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.” – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross​
  2. “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” – Matthew 5:4
  3. “What we once enjoyed and deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.” – Helen Keller
  4. “Death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time. It tell us to tell each other right now that we love each other.” – Leo Buscaglia
  5. “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” – Psalm 9:9
  6. “You will lose someone you can’t live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn’t seal back up. And you come through. It’s like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly – that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp.” – Anne Lamott
  7. “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” – Thomas Campbell
  8. “For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” – Psalm 22:24
  9. “Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?” – Terry Pratchett
Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken | best grief quotes | grief, loss, and mourning quotations
  1. “The holiest of holidays are those kept by ourselves in silence and apart: the secret anniversaries of the heart.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
  2. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.” – Psalm 46:1-2
  3. “The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” – Khalil Gibran
  4. “What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we’ve never met.” – David Levithan
  5. “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” – Isaiah 54:10
  6. “They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. Death cannot kills what never dies.” – William Penn
  7. “Only people who are capable of loving strongly can also suffer great sorrow, but this same necessity of loving serves to counteract their grief and heals them.” – Leo Tolstoy
  8. “For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.” – Lamentations 3:31-33
  9. “Grief is a most peculiar thing; we’re so helpless in the face of it. It’s like a window that will simply open of its own accord. The room grows cold, and we can do nothing but shiver. But it opens a little less each time, and a little less, and one day we wonder what has become of it.” – Arthur Golden
  10. “Fire tests gold, suffering tests brave men.” – Seneca
Fire tests gold, suffering tests brave men | quotes after grief and life after loss | a compilation of grief quotes to uplift your sadness
  1. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” – Revelation 21:4
  2. “Life seems sometimes like nothing more than a series of losses, from beginning to end. That's the given. How you respond to those losses, what you make of what's left, that's the part you have to make up as you go.” – Katharine Weber
  3. “Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive.” – Haruki Murakami
  4. “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” – John 16:22
  5. “Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim.” – Vicki Harrison
  6. “Perhaps they are not the stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy.” – Unknown
  7. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discourages, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9
  8. “If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever.” – Winnie the Pooh
  9. “You attend the funeral, you bid the dead farewell. You grieve. Then you continue with your life. And at times the fact of her absence will hit you like a blow to the chest, and you will weep. But this will happen less and less as time goes on. She is dead. You are alive. So live.” – Neil Gaiman
  10. “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” – Romans 8:18
  11. “You will survive and you will find purpose in the chaos. Moving on doesn't mean letting go.” – Mary VanHaute
You will survive and you will find purpose in the chaos. Moving on doesn't mean letting go | quotes after grief and life after loss | grief quotes to inspire & help deal with loss
  1. “Grit your teeth and let it hurt. Don't deny it, don't be overwhelmed by it. It will not last forever.” – Rabbi Harold Kushner​
  2. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” – 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
  3. “No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.” – C.S. Lewis
  4. “And perhaps there is a limit to the grieving that the human heart can do. As when one adds salt to a tumbler of water, there comes a point where simply no more will be absorbed.” – Sarah Waters
  5. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28
  6. “Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it ‘til it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh.” – Henry David Thoreau
  7. “An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior.” – Viktor E. Frankl
  8. “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.” – Revelation 14:13
  9. “But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.” – Viktor E. Frankl
  10. “Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.” – José N. Harris
  11. “For they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.” – Luke 20:36
  12. “Grief can be a burden, but also an anchor. You get used to the weight, how it holds you in place.” – Sarah Dessen
Grief can be a burden, but also an anchor. You get used to the weight, how it holds you in place | inspirational quotes to help with grief | grief, loss, and mourning quotations
  1. “Everyone grieves in different ways. For some, it could take longer or shorter. I do know it never disappears. An ember still smolders inside me. Most days, I don’t notice it, but, out of the blue, it’ll flare to life.” – Maria V. Snyder
  2. “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:17-18
  3. “When it is darkest, we can see the stars.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
  4. “See, as much as you want to hold on to the bitter sore memory that someone has left this world, you are still in it. And the very act of living is a tide: at first, it seems to make no difference at all, and then one day you look down and see how much pain has eroded.” – Jodi Picoult
  5. “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.” – Washington Irving

Final Thoughts on Grief Quotes

As you can see, our list is a combination of inspirational and encouraging words from the Bible and people who have experienced grief themselves.

If you are currently grieving, find comfort in these words and allow yourself to heal. Slowly but surely you will find your way through the darkness of your grief.

If you are looking for things to say to a grieving friend, then we hope we were able to help you find the right words.

We hope that, through these quotes, you can support a friend or relative through the grieving stage and help them remember that they are loved.

And if you're looking for more encouragement, check out these blog posts:

Finally, if you want to use these quotes to make a lasting change to your life, then check out and recite these 57 affirmations for success.

best grief quotes | quotes after grief and life after loss | inspirational quotes to help with grief
Share this: