Like nearly every holiday, Valentine’s Day is meant to help people celebrate something inherently good. Even as a small child, I remember handing out pink packs of candy to my classmates, reinforcing the value of each friendship in my young mind.

But while many friends, families and couples will celebrate their relationships this Valentine’s Day, others will have a different experience. Valentine’s Day has a funny way of reminding people of the relational bliss they don’t have. Instead of enjoying a heart full of love, all too many people will be tending to a broken heart on February 14.

I think of my friend, who would have been celebrating her first Valentine’s Day as a married woman. Instead, she’ll be reminded of the painful way her engagement fell apart at the last minute. I think of a family member, who is left wondering why the right guy hasn’t come along after all these years. And I think of my elderly neighbor, who will face his first Valentine’s Day after the death of his wife.

Maybe you can relate to these stories of heartache. Or perhaps you’ll be facing heartbreak in a non-romantic relationship this Valentine’s Day—a wayward child, a family member with an addiction or a lonely work environment.

No matter what wounds of the heart you are carrying, you can seek comfort and healing in God’s Word. Consider reading these five Bible verses, asking God to reveal his eternal love to you in a fresh new way.

1. Psalm 34:18 (GNTD)
   The Lord is near to those who are discouraged; he saves those who have lost all hope.
2. Psalm 147:3 (GNTD)
   He heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds.
3. Romans 8:39 (GNTD)
   Neither the world above nor the world below—there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.
4. 1 John 4:10 (GNTD)
   This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven.
5. Matthew 11:28-30 (GNTD)
   Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.