Day 15, Year 1

Calamity could Fall Suddenly upon People

“For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them.” (Ecclesiastes 9:12 NKJV)

Yesterday’s devotional posed a question: Who could bear God’s wrath? Today’s verse aptly explains how God’s indignation would befall humans. The time when people reap what they had sowed could come suddenly or gradually. People could better prepare for what comes incrementally, but there is often no time to prepare for the suddenliness. It is precisely because death and calamities are unpredictable that choosing life and persistently walking the path of life during peaceful times become incredibly vital. Furthermore, we do not usually reap immediately what we have sowed right away. Hence, to reverse what the bad fruit we might reap, we must trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, turn away from evil, and do good to eradicate the negative consequences that might come to us unexpectedly. In summary, before death comes, we should choose life; before reaping the disastrous fruit of our actions, we must confront and deal with our transgressions properly.

Today’s verse mentioned, “For man also does not know his time.” “Time” is ‘eth in Hebrew, which also refers to “time of an event, seasons, occasion.” This “time” is not associated with fatalism—the belief that the will of man cannot override the inevitable fate. Conversely, the scripture states that our decisions have a decisive impact on our future, and it is surely not any form of fatalism.

According to today’s verse, people are usually unaware of when a calamity will strike. Of course, there are a few people who know. For instance, Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, had a dream about being assassinated less than two weeks before being murdered. (Assessed on January 8, 2025, from https://www.americanacademy.de/premonition/) Hence, a few people can be informed by God to prepare for what lies ahead. But in most cases, it is difficult to precisely foresee the future. Thus, knowing God’s path of life and righteousness is best for us—this will be further discussed tomorrow. In a nutshell, we have to be determined to persistently choose life, rather than making decisions solely based on habituality or personal preferences.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you think most disasters in life are hard to avoid? Why?

2) Do you think you need to prepare for sudden calamities or disasters in advance? If so, how would you prepare yourself?