Greetings in the name of the One who is like no other, Jesus Christ – THE Risen Saviour! What a difference a day makes – from beautiful sunshine to beautiful gray-dampness…never mind it is still the day that God has made for us. May He hear our praise and thanksgiving! … and may we hear Him whisper to us! I will be praying for you today, asking Father to fulfil the promise of Isaiah 40:31: But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (NLT).
I was previewing a video Bible study lesson, and part of the teaching focused on the properties of an iceberg. The reminder that the part of an iceberg we see is only 10% of its actual size…that there is 90 % below the surface of the water was good. The rest of the lesson was insightful and will, I believe, challenge thinking. However, that ‘iceberg’ image kept floating through my thoughts. I had a sense that God wanted to show me something more and sure enough after a brief conversation with an individual, God started to reveal deeper truth.
I have had the opportunity to be in Newfoundland watching an iceberg drift through a little cove when the ‘berg’ foundered. It was an amazing sight and sound as unknown to me and all of the other watchers the 90% under the water split apart, pieces broke off, and the iceberg rolled over and repositioned itself as it found a new balance point. It was a magnificent scene, although a little sad watching the pieces float away.
The point of the Bible study video was that as followers of the Christ we pay a lot of attention to the 10% of our life we want people to see. If you will, we perform – we act like followers – we focus on the 10% of our faith that we can control and promote, forgetting that the strength and stability of the 90% that we pay less attention to is really, really important. I suppose that I have observed too many Christ-followers, myself included, “founder” as the trials of life, the doubts, the wrong attitudes and motives, the ‘sin’ of not putting God first has eaten away at our stability, creating a weak foundation…until the day came, quite unexpectedly when things under the surface split-apart and we had to find a new balance point. It was so horribly wrong to watch bits of what we thought was a good life…float away.
After the ice berg ‘found’ its new center, new portions of ice and new shapes appeared, all that was hidden away was revealed and a new beauty realized. Oddly enough, the same thing happens in a Christ-follower’s life when they ‘find’ the new center after a “foundering” experience. As I told you, there was a sound that accompanied the iceberg’s foundering…a piercing ‘crack’ and deep moaning…and a lot of turbulence in the water — as if the iceberg was in pain. Again I have witnessed that as well in a Christ-follower’s life … the cry of pain, the tears, the moans and groans, the thrashing around. I suppose for the iceberg and for the Christ-follower, it is a vital part of the process.
I wish I could say that all this is avoidable but the iceberg has no control over the currents or the water temperature or underwater rock formations or other conditions. There are many things in the life of a Christ-follower that cannot be controlled either. However at the heart of an iceberg is a central core that brings it back to a proper position…and in the heart of a Christ-follower is a central core as well that will bring them back to a proper position. The ice berg cannot make any decisions of its own…but, you and I as Christ-followers can control the strength and size of our core…According to your faith will it be done to you. Matthew 9:29 NIV.
I think I will leave this to you to ponder a bit…be blessed!