The recent large-scale collapse of glacier ice and rock in the Himalayas, followed by flooding, caused a devastating loss of life in Nepal and nearby areas. Many people died, and others were reported missing. I first wish to express my deepest condolences to those who lost their lives. I also extend sincere sympathy to the families who lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods.
On August 26, 2026, a major collapse occurred on a glacier-covered mountain slope near Langtang National Park in Nepal. Ice and rock rushed into the valley and developed into a massive debris flow and flood. The U.S. Geological Survey has provisionally assessed that the disaster was likely triggered by a glacier collapse. The effects of the flood and debris flow extended for many kilometers downstream. The collapsed material also blocked river channels in places, creating natural dams and lakes that posed additional flood risks. The exact cause of the initial collapse remains under investigation. Climate change should therefore not be presented as the sole proven direct cause. Even so, glacier instability, melting, and related conditions remain important background factors under scientific examination.
Before drawing any spiritual lesson from this disaster, one point must be made clear. We must not say that those who died or suffered were more sinful than we are. A natural disaster does not give us the right to identify its victims as people who received God's direct judgment because of some particular sin. Yeshua warned against precisely this kind of conclusion.
There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Yeshua answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (Luke 13:1–5 · KJV)
Yeshua did not analyze the sins of those who had died. He turned the question toward the people who were still alive and looking at those events. Were the victims greater sinners than everyone else? His answer was clear: “Nay.” Then He immediately warned, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
The focus of this teaching is not the condemnation of people who suffer disaster. The focus is on self-examination by those who are still alive. Instead of searching for the sins of people who experienced tragedy, we must ask what our own condition is before God.
The Nepal disaster also shows how one physical event can trigger another. Glacier ice and rock can collapse into a valley. The resulting debris can generate destructive flooding. If fallen material blocks a river, a natural dam and lake may form. Water can then continue to accumulate behind the blockage. Pressure can increase even while the surface appears temporarily calm. If the structure eventually exceeds its limit, accumulated water and debris can be released within a very short time.
This physical process must not be equated with divine judgment. I am not saying that the Nepal disaster was God's direct judgment for a particular sin. Yet the pattern of accumulation, a critical threshold, and sudden collapse can remind us of a warning that appears repeatedly in Scripture concerning sin and the patience of God.
But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. (Genesis 15:16 · KJV)
God told Abraham that his descendants would return to the land of Canaan, but He did not bring it about immediately. Scripture gives one reason: “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” The appointed time had not yet come. God waited for a long period. From a human perspective, it may have seemed that nothing was happening. But God's patience did not mean that He failed to see sin. It did not mean that He regarded sin as something harmless.
Scripture records a similar principle in the account of Sodom and Gomorrah. Judgment came after wickedness had become exceedingly grave. The lesson is not that we should pronounce judgment on other peoples or other generations. The lesson is that human sin does not cease to matter simply because God is patient.
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; (Romans 2:4–5 · KJV)
There is a severe expression in this passage: “treasurest up unto thyself wrath.” When nothing happens immediately, people easily assume that nothing is wrong. Yesterday passed without consequence. Today also seems normal. We then assume that tomorrow will be the same. When judgment does not follow sin at once, we may even begin to think that God does not see it. Scripture warns us not to interpret God's patience as approval of sin.
God's patience gives us time to repent. It gives us time to turn back and return to God. We should not mistake the fact that a critical point has not yet been reached for a guarantee of safety. The absence of disaster today is not a promise that nothing will happen tomorrow. It should remind us that time to turn back is still being given.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 · KJV)
God's patience is an opportunity for salvation. It is grace when God awakens the human heart, brings conviction of sin, and leads a person to turn back. To feel the weight of correction can itself be grace. To examine one's life can be grace. Even the desire to return to God can be an expression of His mercy.
The opposite condition is one of the most frightening. A person may continue in sin and eventually lose any sense that something is wrong. What once produced fear or troubled the conscience can become familiar through repetition. In time, a person may begin to believe that there is nothing wrong with living without God. Scripture also describes what happens when people persistently refuse to retain God in their knowledge.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; (Romans 1:28 · KJV)
Therefore, when God awakens us and calls us to turn back, we should not treat that moment lightly. We must return while we can still hear the warning. We must return while our hearts can still be convicted. We must return while repentance is still possible. Few things are more dangerous than mistaking God's patience for indifference.
Our world also contains many accumulated risks. Military tension and the possibility of war remain on the Korean Peninsula. Wars and armed conflicts continue in several regions of the world. No one can guarantee that a limited conflict will never expand into something larger. At the same time, we must resist the temptation to declare that a particular war or disaster is automatically the fulfillment of a specific biblical prophecy or a direct act of divine judgment.
What we do know is that the peace and ordinary life we enjoy are not guaranteed forever. The same is true of our individual lives. A person does not leave home in the morning expecting that the day will be the last. We wake up, eat, work, meet people, and make plans for tomorrow. Most of those living in the disaster area in Nepal were probably living ordinary lives in the same way. Then disaster came at a time they did not expect.
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. (Matthew 24:42 · KJV)
Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. (Matthew 24:44 · KJV)
The central message is not fear. Scripture is not telling us to spend our lives terrified about when a disaster may happen. It is not telling us to calculate the date of a future war. It is not telling us to point at victims whenever a natural disaster occurs and declare that God judged them. The central message is repentance. It is watchfulness. It is the call to return to God while there is still time.
When ice and rock block a river, water may continue to build behind the obstruction while the landscape still appears calm. Yet pressure can be increasing where it cannot be seen. Once a critical threshold is crossed, the situation can change in an instant. Our spiritual lives can also become dangerous as sin gradually accumulates. We should not continue storing up sin simply because no immediate consequence has appeared.
The fact that nothing happened today does not guarantee that nothing will happen tomorrow. The fact that we are alive today does not guarantee that we will be alive tomorrow. The most important time is therefore not some distant day. It is now. If we must turn back, we should turn back now. If we must repent, we should repent now. If we must return to God, we should return now.
As we look at the tragedy in Nepal, we must not judge the victims. We should mourn those who died. We should help survivors. We should support rescue and recovery. We should also strengthen scientific monitoring, early-warning systems, and evacuation measures so that future loss can be reduced. These are human responsibilities that should not be neglected. At the same time, the disaster should lead each of us to examine our own life.
The words Yeshua spoke after the tower in Siloam fell still ask us the same question today. Those who died were not necessarily greater sinners than we are. Therefore, when we witness disaster, we should not begin by searching for the sins of others. We should first examine ourselves. We should return to God while there is still time to turn back.
Do not mistake God's patience for the idea that nothing will ever happen. Today is a time of grace. Today is still a time to turn back. Therefore, remain watchful. And return to the Lord.