By Augustus Henry (PhD)
MY brother once talked about a man with a strange and unattractive face he saw. He said that the man’s face was awkward. His nose appeared oversize for his face. In addition, that nose was bigger on one side of his face and his eyes seemed out of place. His lips hung as though they were loose. And, although the man was not bald, his hairline seemed to run away from his forehead. But here is the kicker, my brother said that when this man walked into the room and smiled, he lit up the entire room. In spite of his unseemly face, his smile was pleasant and infectious. No matter how ugly or unattractive someone might appear, a smile can bring pleasantry to any face.
Process Behind Beauty
Behind the scenes, “There are 43 muscles in the face, most of which are controlled by the seventh cranial nerve (also known as the facial nerve). [It takes 26 of those to produce a smile.] The facial nerve exits the cerebral cortex and emerges from your skull just in front of your ears. It then splits into five primary branches. These branches reach different areas of the facial muscles that allow the face to twist and contort into a variety of expressions” (Tom Scheve). The things that go on behind the scenes to produce a friendly face…. We never see the pulling, pushing and negotiation between those muscles, nerves, layers of skin and bone structure that produce the elegance of a smile, but we enjoy and are affected by it.
A smile is not necessarily a product of thinking, but a chemical reaction made possible by a hormone called dopamine. Behind-the-scenes, it takes 26 muscles, 7 nerves, 14 bones, dopamine, three layers of skin and a light heart to produce a smile. In the same way, every goodness, beauty, and successes in our lives are complex networks of activities and processes of which we are oblivious. Likewise, good health, good friends, good fellowship, a favourable job, children, a family, sanity, and the right mentality are all the workings of a behind-the-scenes process that keeps us in balance. Just as we can trust that a smile would be there when we need to produce it, we can be confident that God is working all things out for our good – even when we don’t know it, see it, or feel it.
The Behind-the-Scenes God
Not feeling or seeing God does not mean that he is absent. Elijah felt the absence of God, but there was an angel with him the whole time. Elisha’s servant was desperate for help as the Assyrian army approached to assassinate them, but there were legions of invisible angels all over the mountains around them in a defensive stance. Jesus felt the absence of his father on the cross, but that same father had already set a resurrection date for him. Just because your experience numbs your feelings to the presence of God does not mean he is not there.
The Children of Israel were happy for the victories God work for them in their journey to freedom, but they were frustrated by God’s processes. As you read the scripture below, notice how God workout a route of safety for them:
Exodus 13:17, 21 NKJV
Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.” 21 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.
There are three questions to be answered from that passage:
We ask the question why is God taking so long? The philistines are waiting along the shorter path. And a war that we might not be able to manage may ensue. God sees that big picture and we must trust that is working out the best outcome for us even though it might appear longer than necessary.
Why are we unable to see his leading sometimes? Because he is up ahead, and he is too big for us to see around him. The Bible says that God’s wisdom is higher than that of human’s as far as the heaven is from the earth. So again, we need to trust his knowledge.
Why would God utilize such undesirable objects such as clouds and fire to lead? Why would he employ concepts that are undesirable metaphors for humans? Seemingly bad things can produce good: fire, even though destructive, gives light and purifies. Clouds, even though they produce storms, bring water and regeneration. What Israel saw was the pillar of fire and clouds, but the whole time God was working out their safe passage, purifying them, strengthening the group, and preparing them to establish a new and historically recognized nation. He is working on all things behind the scenes for our good. Trust that!
Making Behind-the-Scenes Connections
This story might help shed some light on this topic: Mrs. Lewis told the electrician “I need one bulb in my bathroom.” The next morning, he showed up with 2 switches, a socket for the bulb, of course, one bulb, 20 yards of electrical cable, and 4 lengths of pipe. Amazed at that, Mrs. Lewis responded, “I am not paying for all that material. All I want is a bulb. After much haggling, he installed the bulb and left. The next morning Mrs. Lewis called the electrician to complain that the bulb was not working. To which he replied, the bulb needs a power source and connectivity to that source. I came ready to make that connection, but you denied me the opportunity to do so.
We tell God what we want but deny him space to work out the process.
Just like we have no interest in short-circuiting the processes behind the beauty of a smile, circumventing God’s processes of achieving his purpose in us is the same as asking for the bulb without connectivity to the source.