Ever since we were born and we’ve come to accept the reality of life and a superior being, we know we do not exist by ourselves. There is a great being somewhere out there who has the whole world in his hands – God.
As we grow, there would be some quirky inquisitions brewing in us as humans – why did this happen?. To start, why do I have to eat? Why does life exist in times and seasons? Why do people have to die in times of grief? Why do we have to fail? And many more questions. I feel the ridiculousness of these questions we tend to ask ourselves – and the all-powerful being, tends to reduce as we grow up and face the harsh realities of life.
Before we delve into why God works in mysterious ways, we need to understand some things about this man and why he chose to work in mysterious ways. We would do this with backings from the bible, and we hope you pick some things along the way on this journey to understand God and his mysterious ways better.
Who Is God?
One of the opening chapters of the bible – Genesis (Genesis 1 vs. 2), said the earth was void and without form in the beginning. It lacked any form of life and was just there – bland, until a higher and superior being stepped in and applied his creating powers into the creation process that also created man (Genesis 1 vs. 2). Who is that man? God.
With the knowledge we have derived above, we can say that God is the creator of all we know as we see them. He is the superior being whose power has no limits. Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, and many more are all his characteristics. All-knowing, and he can do all things.
What Are Some Of His Mysterious Works?
In Nature
Before we delve into what the bible has to say about how God works in mysterious ways, let us take a look around us to give us an insight into where we are headed.
Looking at our environment, there are many things we can see that would confound our knowledge about the normal state of things. Every day we wake up we should take a gaze up at the sky – he created this on the second day of the creation story (Genesis 1 vs. 6 – 8)? If man-made, why can’t we explain the phenomenon of the massive sheet of blue and white hanging over us without the support of a pillar or a beam?
If it were man-made, we would have hailed it as a wonderful piece of engineering, and he would have won several prizes for it. Or haven’t you wondered when you were traveling in a car, and it seems the moon or sun is always after you in the sky everywhere you go? Trust me, we all did wonder how and why.
As humans we tend to try to find the means and ways to quantify these mysterious things by explaining, and even though we fail at it, some of us still don’t believe that there is a superior being somewhere.
In The Bible
In biblical records and not only the creation story, but we also have stories of how God works in mysterious ways. Through himself, his son – Jesus, or some of his prophets in the bible, there are no limits to what he can do or has done. Asides, being a great storyteller – he loves to speak in parables so much you’ll find the hidden meaning in them; he is such a miracle worker. Testimonies? Here are some:
Let’s go in with a bible verse in mind (Philippians 4 vs. 13), where we can say they all ascribe all these miraculous and mysterious doings to a superior being who strengthens them. Let’s look at some of the miracles God performed through his people in the Bible.
Divine wine (John 2 vs. 1 – 11): One of the earliest testaments of how God works in mysterious ways is notably the wedding in Cana. This was the party where Jesus and his mother were in attendance, and they – the party, had run out of wine. Wrong timing, right? And there was a little panic before they went to meet Mary, who later directed them to Jesus after instructing them, saying, “whatever he tells you to do, do it.”
They did accordingly what Jesus had told them, and the wine was better than the one they had originally served, all while exercising faith. How do we explain the turning of water into wine? Or do we claim that they had added sweeteners behind their back? I’m sure the servers were quite as confused as we are now.
Raising a decaying body from the dead (John 11 vs. 1 – 45): Death is final, we all know. After Death, the body gradually decomposes till there is no flesh and everything has returned to dust (Genesis 3 vs. 19). So was the case of Lazarus, a friend of Jesus who had been dead for three days, and Jesus couldn’t make it in time to save his dying friend – as Martha thought. This event was in line to show how God works in mysterious ways.
Jesus got to the tomb and gave thanks to his father in heaven, who always hears his prayer and requests. Who is this father? God! After giving thanks, Jesus beckoned on Lazarus to come forth and guess what? He did come forth. Death lost, and the grave succumbed to the power of God. Has humanity been able to reverse death or bring life into a dead and decaying body? It can only be God.
F.A.Q
Where Is “God Works In Mysterious Ways” In The Bible?
If you are looking for the exact verse that says this in the bible, then you might not end up finding it anytime soon. However, as we know that he loves to speak to us in parables, a few verses are close in meaning to this verse. A look at Isaiah 55 vs. 8 – 9 can offer a closer meaning to it, as a way that is not ours can be termed mysterious.
In addition to the above, another verse that is also in close accordance with “God works in mysterious ways” is 1st Corinthians 1 vs. 27, where he uses simple and straightforward things that we think might be easy for the wise to understand to confuse them. Isn’t that mysterious?
What Is Meant By The Mystery Of God?
The mystery of God is our reality as humans embedded with his hidden presence. We can’t see him or touch him, but we can feel his presence and see the doings of this mysterious being. Things like these are hidden to the normal people, but he had revealed this to his own people – that obey and fear him. (Psalm 25 vs. 14)
All these are declarations of spiritual truths to his people by his method – revelations. You only get to know these things through the divine inspiration of the holy spirit. So, therefore, if you are not his – obey and live in his ways, you can’t get to know these things. He is holy and only inhabits holy places.
Does The Bible Say God Helps Those Who Help Themselves?
The provision of God for his people is only hinged on one condition – diligent work. God and, in turn, heaven, help those who help themselves is not for lazy people. He has reprimanded the lazy ones to keep up and find something to apply their hands-on. (Proverbs 6 vs. 6 – 8)
In Deuteronomy 28 vs. 8, there lies a blessing for those who apply their hands to something, and also in Proverbs 12 vs. 11, which all connotes to God and heaven help those who help themselves. There are also several warnings for those who do otherwise as not only would they be slaves, they would have nothing to eat—Proverbs 13 vs. 4.
It is important to note that the statements, as said in the verses quoted above, do not preach over-reliance on God, No we shouldn’t as this would go against this certain question. However, helping yourself is important. If you can do so then God will step in to reward you diligently according to the works of your hand. Remember the parable of talents? Mathew 25 vs. 14 – 30
Is Saturn Mentioned In The Bible?
Yes, Saturn was indeed mentioned in the bible. It was represented by the star the Israelites worshiped in the desert – Chiun (Amos 5 vs. 26). It was linked to idolatry, as this was the god the Israelites made for themselves in small containers that they carried along on their travels and journeys.
Saturn became an idol when God was absent, and they used this chance to make for themselves a graven image which was in disobedience to one of God’s commandments (Exodus 20 vs. 4).
Conclusion
There are many more stories abundant in the bible that are testament to how God works in mysterious ways – walking on water feeding the five thousand, parting the red sea, and many more can be found in the bible. They are the mysteries of how God works in mysterious ways.
We can’t and haven’t been able to explain these mysterious deeds with our knowledge of science. Then why do we persist? Do we know how he does this? We shouldn’t try as he already said that his ways are not ours (Isaiah 55 vs. 8 – 9), and when we persist or try to replicate God’s acts, we end up making fools of ourselves (1st Corinthians 1 vs. 27).
