When the Mountains Are Carried into the Midst of the Sea

A call to prayer for Nepal

I walk the hills of Scotland and think of Nepal. This week the Himalayan wall that draws a walker’s heart has been in the news for a far heavier reason.

Last week Wednesday morning, 26 August 2026, a glacier on the Nepal–Tibet border gave way. Ice and rock collapsed, as wall of mud and water tore down the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli valleys. Villages in Rasuwa and Nuwakot were struck in minutes, where Bridges snapped, homes were gone. The numbers of the lost keep moving, where hundreds have died. Many more are still missing. Search teams are still in the mud.

Now look at the Word. The psalmist could have been standing on that hillside.

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea…
There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God…
God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
— Psalm 46:1–5, NKJV

Folks, that is doctrine for a week like this. The earth can be removed. The mountains can be carried into the sea. Creation groans. This flood is part of that groaning. It is not a puzzle we must solve before we may pray. It is a trouble in which God has promised to be a very present help.

The mountains shake. The city of God does not. The church is not a building on a riverbank. The church is a people indwelt by the living God. Buildings can be swept away. The gates of Hades shall not prevail against His church.

There is a Bible-believing witness in Nepal, more than half a million who name Christ, many at real cost. They are our brothers and sisters. Reports from Nepali Christian networks are still being checked, but they are already heavy enough to drive us to our knees. Fellowships in Rasuwa and Nuwakot speak of missing saints, damaged buildings, and pastors unaccounted for. Some churches in the Kathmandu valley appear to have been spared. That is mercy. It is not a reason to fold our hands. If one member suffers, all suffer with it.

It important to know and Born Again Christians that we do not stand in Scotland and say this flood was aimed at that village. The Word says Jesus settled that in Luke 13. When the tower in Siloam fell, He would not let the dead become a lesson about other men’s sins. The message is not “they had it coming” but more importantly is “you must be ready.” Faith is not a charm against mud. Hebrews 11 has saints who stopped lions, and saints who were sawn in two. Same faith. Different providence.

What we do say is this, that the Father of mercies has not resigned, at this tender time He comforts us so that we may comfort others.  I know myself who will never stand at Everest Base Camp can still serve Rasuwa this week. we can pray. We can give. We can refuse to look away.

The glacier did not surprise the Lord. “Not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.” If a sparrow cannot fall without Him, a valley cannot flood without Him. Importantly friends this does not make the grief easier, it makes the grief in a sense held.

There is a river in Psalm 46 that does not destroy, the life of God among His people. If they were in Christ when the water came, they are with Christ now. Height cannot separate them. Depth cannot. A wall of Himalayan debris cannot. Stay in the Word. A church fed on Scripture will have something to say when the river rises, and something to give when it falls.

Let us pray.

Father of mercies, You are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. We bring You Nepal.

Have mercy on those still listed missing. Give skill and safety to every rescue team in the mud. Be near the families who wait, and the families who already know. Comfort them at the break of dawn.

Lord please raise shepherds for the scattered sheep in Rasuwa and Nuwakot. Give strength to the churches that remain. Provide clean water, food, shelter, and a hedge against further flood and disease.

Let the gospel be spoken with tenderness and authority, not as an opportunist’s pitch, but as living water. Guide those in authority, that help would reach the right places.

And Lord, do not let us be hearers only. Open our hands as well as our mouths. The mountains may be carried into the midst of the sea. Your church will not be moved. The Lord of hosts is with them. The Lord of hosts is with us.

Be still, and know that He is God.

Grace and peace in Christ Jesus.

Peter
Scotland