An iceberg is defined as a massive chunk of ice floating in the ocean. It was once part of a glacier, but it broke off, fell into the ocean and floated away. Now, only a small part of the iceberg is visible above the surface of the water leaving the rest of it to our imagination.
We live in a time where people glorify singers, sports stars, actors/actresses, and social media influencers. We think that when someone reaches a certain level of fame, success, or money in the bank then they have officially “made it” in life. But those things are just the tip of the iceberg. We don’t see the years and years of hard work, dedication, and consistency it takes to be great. We also don’t see the hardships and problems that come with that level of success. There is always more than meets the eye.
Most of us have heard the story of David and Goliath but in case you’ve forgotten, here is a refresher. The Philistine army and the Israelite army were locked in a standstill. King Saul (the first Israelite king) camped on one side of the valley and Goliath (a nine foot tall giant) camped on the other side.
The Bible says that every day and night for forty days, Goliath taunted the Israelite army. He shouted “Why do you come out and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me.”
Then Jesse, David’s father, commanded the young shepherd boy, to take food to his brothers who were on the front line. It was the very first Doordash order in the Bible. When David got to the battlefield to deliver the food, Goliath shouted again his usual trash talking. David heard this, went to King Saul, and said that he would fight Goliath. King Saul responded, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
Most of us know how the story ends. David killed Goliath with only a stone and a slingshot. The greatest victory that the world has ever seen. (Full Story found in 1 Samuel 17)
What I want to focus on is not so much the fact that David had a big successful victory that brought him into the limelight, but the fact that it took many years of killing lions and bears as a faithful shepherd to prepare him for the battle. People got to see the tip of the iceberg of him killing a giant, but they didn’t see the many years of him faithfully serving as a shepherd.
I know for me, I tend to look at other people’s success especially on social media and get jealous of how seemingly perfect their lives are. It sometimes makes me feel like there is something wrong with me or my life. I say things like “I wish that was me” or “why do they have it so good and my life is so hard?” But that is because I am only looking at the tip of the iceberg. The reality is that I have no idea what people are going through or what is really happening in their life. Just because outwardly people look perfect, I need to remember that everyone is broken and needs Jesus, just like me.
So the next time you are scrolling through social media and you see someone doing something successful with tons of followers, and you are tempted to compare yourself to them, remember that everyone is on a different journey. Like David, God will also use you to accomplish great things if you will stay focused on faithfully serving Jesus in the small things rather than looking around at everyone else’s outward success.
The Bigger Picture: Don’t compare your development stage to other people’s iceberg of success. There is always much more beneath the surface.
The Bigger Picture 