Worship When it Hurts: The Songs That Carried Me Through Loss

There’s something sacred about worshiping with tears in your eyes.

When life cracks wide open, and you don’t have words—but a song somehow says it for you.

This post isn’t about polished faith. It’s about praise that comes from the middle of grief. Because if you’ve ever suffered deep loss or felt like life has taken more than you can bear, I want to share the songs that held me together—and the Scriptures that gave them meaning.

1. “Praise You in This Storm” by Casting Crowns

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." — Job 1:21

I can’t count how many times I’ve listened to this song while crying behind the steering wheel, or curling up under the covers, or walking through the house just trying to function.

It was written after Casting Crowns met a young girl named Erin who was battling cancer. Her faith was powerful—even as her body failed. When she passed, the band turned their grief into a song that would comfort countless people.

The lyrics mirror Job’s response after losing his children, his wealth, and nearly everything he held dear:

“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

That kind of praise is hard. It's not denial—it’s defiance.

It’s saying: I will still bless the name of the Lord.

Even when the sky is falling. Even when the answer doesn’t come. Even in the storm.

2. “It Is Well with My Soul” by Horatio Spafford

“Is it well with you?” – 2 Kings 4:26

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” – Psalm 46:1

This hymn was written by a man who lost nearly everything—first his son, then his business, and then all four of his daughters in a tragic shipwreck.

As Spafford sailed over the very waters where his daughters died, he penned the words:

“When peace like a river attendeth my way… it is well, it is well with my soul.”

Not because he wasn’t grieving.

Not because it didn’t hurt.

But because God hadn’t changed.

The same words are echoed in 2 Kings when Elisha encounters the Shunammite woman who had lost her child. She replies “It is well” even before her miracle comes. Why?

Because hope had not died.

This song reminds me that peace isn’t the absence of pain—it’s the presence of Jesus in the midst of it.

3. “Held” by Natalie Grant

“Do not fear, for I am with you… I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

The first time I heard this song, I was overcome with God's presence.

But Natalie Grant's was not the first voice I heard gently ministering through this song. It was my dear friend, Amanda's. And I still hear her voice every time I listen to "Held."

Natalie Grant sings about the heartbreak of holding a baby you won’t get to raise—something I understood deeply after losing my son, Jacob, at just four years old. He had Pulmonary Hypertension, and although he started to thrive on life-saving medication, we still lost him. That loss tore through my world.

“This is what it means to be held… how it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive.”

Grief threatens to make us feel alone. Abandoned. Even forgotten.

But Isaiah 41:10 reminds us of the truth:

• God is with us.

• He will strengthen us.

• And when we fall apart—He holds us.

Worship Isn’t a Performance. It’s a Lifeline.

If you’ve ever praised with a broken voice or lifted your hands through tears, I want you to know:

That’s real worship.

That’s the kind of praise that shakes heaven.

That’s the kind of praise I believe God leans in to hear.

And it’s what’s carried me through the loss of Jacob, the silent weight of autoimmune illness, the storms that shook our home and our family—and all the moments that felt like too much.

Jacob died on May 29, 2010.

This year—May 29, 2025—will be fifteen years. And it also happens to be the day we celebrate my younger son, Sam’s, high school graduation. A day filled with joy, pride, and gratitude… and also the ache of what could have been. Jacob would have just finished his first year of college.

It will be a bittersweet day. But I will worship anyway.

Because I know the God who gives. I’ve known the God who takes away.

And I’ve clung to the truth that through it all—He is still good.

You don’t have to feel strong to sing.

You don’t have to have the words.

You just have to come—as you are. And let the One who holds you in the storm, receive your praise anyway.