Iceberg ahead!

By the breath of God ice is given; and the expanse of waters is frozen tight. Job 37:10 

More than 40,000 icebergs wander around the North Atlantic each year, most having “calved” from glaciers in Greenland. They drift for thousands of kilometers on ocean currents, occasionally roaming as far south as the west coast of Ireland, and even to the warm and balmy Bermuda Islands.

Most icebergs melt within a year of calving, unless they stall over winter, but seldom do they last more than 2 years. The ice may be thousands of years old, having fallen as fresh snow on the glaciers long before King David ruled Israel, but the warmer water of the oceans inevitably reduce millions of tones of pure ice to seawater within months. 

Icebergs are inherently dangerous, with highly random shapes and non-uniform melting and breakup rates which lead to instability and a tendency to roll over without warning… or provocation! The very nature of ice in water means that almost 9/10ths. of an iceberg is under water, an invisible hazard to anyone venturing too close to the visible bit.  

Icebergs also calve in the Southern Oceans that surround Antarctica, but these tend be tabular 'bergs, with clifflike sides and a flat top; usually formed by detachment from an ice shelf. The biggest ever observed was just over 31,000 square kilometers, with an estimated mass of 3 billion tonnes. The 'berg was larger larger than Belgium! The  winds and ocean currents tend to keep these southern giants close to the coast of Antarctica, however a few have been seen drifting off the coast of New Zealand, thousands of kilometers to the north.  

Any ship collision with an iceberg is usually disastrous. The enormous momentum involved and potentially huge contact area with the ice can generate hundreds of tones of force on the hull which would cause it to crumple or rip, as the captain, crew and passengers of the Titanic discovered.

Icebergs at sea directly affect Trans-Atlantic shipping, offshore oil production, and commercial fisheries activities. The Grand Banks of Newfoundland is known for fog and severe weather. Icebergs melt rapidly in East Newfoundland waters and break up into smaller pieces to form growlers and “bergy-bits”, which are difficult for vessels to detect either visually or by radar. They are a sailor’s worst nightmare.

Icebergs in life are equally as dangerous! 

Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.  Psalm 40:4KJV

It is exceedingly easy for us to lie to ourselves; we can skillfully distort our self image and make ourselves look better than we really are. Solomon of old knew this to be true… he wrote these sobering words after a living a life that had become desolate and ravaged by dissolute living.

Let’s take a good look at the way we’re living and reorder our lives under God. Lamentations 3:40 The Message  

There is only one certain way to avoid a rouge ‘berg that may wreck your life… “Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you--unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?” 2 Corinthains13:5 Amplified Bible

Icebergs are mostly white because the ice is full of tiny air bubbles. The bubble surfaces reflect white light giving the iceberg an overall white appearance. Ice that is bubble free has a blue tint which is due to the same light phenomenon that tints the sky.

However, we need to be completely transparent…“People who cover their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy.” Proverbs 28.13 New Living Translation

We often hide behind a veil, letting our brothers and sisters think we are competent and confident when we are struggling. All of us have struggled at one time or another in our life in Christ with wearing a veil of self-control over an anxious spirit; a veil of humility over a prideful heart; a veil of quietness over our frustration and anger; a veil of defensiveness over our failures; or veils of wealth, skills, and family name over our personal inadequacy.

But whenever a man (or woman) turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18