Does God Really Work in "Mysterious Ways"?
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What is a mystery? Is it something we long to solve to ease our mind and curiosity, or to have fun (such as in games)? Sometimes we morph that mystery-seeking mindset into our spiritual lives when confronted with something that confounds us beyond solutions, and we spout the old adage, “God works in mysterious ways.” But does He?
Many people believe this phrase, “God works in mysterious ways” is part of Scripture, but instead, it comes from the mind and hand of eighteenth-century poet and hymn writer, William Cowper (pronounced Cooper). He began his hymn, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way” with the following stanza:
“God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.”
Prone to deep bouts of depression and multiple suicide attempts, Cowper developed a lifelong friendship with John Newton (who wrote Amazing Grace), and Pastor Newton mentored and loyally stood beside William. The two of them collaborated on a hymnal, and it’s in that work we find the song quoted above. He felt the hand of God kept him from taking his life, yet he died in what John Piper calls “utter despair” in 1800.
And so, that eighteenth century hymn has come to common usage as a cliché for attempted resolutions to many a conundrum, whether ill or good.
What’s Mysterious about God?
God is ultimately unknowable (incomprehensible) (Job 5:9; 36:26; Psalm 145:3; Isaiah 40:28; Romans 11:33), yet He makes Himself known through His communicable attributes, which are those we share with Him, such as love, goodness, and kindness. (Romans 1:19-20). It’s His incommunicable attributes which will forever remain a mystery to us (including His omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, infinity, and aseity). We are an inquisitive race, however, and we have a compulsion to know whatever we can (think science, philosophy, etc.). But there are mysteries about God and what He does which will forever remain mysteries.
Part of why we want answers involves pride. Regard the narrative, for instance, of Moses’ brother and sister. When God confronted Aaron and Miriam after they questioned how God spoke only through Moses, God answered their complaint. He said,
“Now hear My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will make Myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream. It is not this way for My servant Moses; He is faithful in all My household; with him I speak mouth to mouth, that is, openly, and not using mysterious language, and he beholds the form of the LORD. So why were you not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?” (Numbers 12:6-8).
We see here the first use of a word pertaining to a mystery regarding God. In this narrative, it has to do with language, but two big ways of God remains a mystery to us humans include:
- God’s will (Ephesians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 15:5).
- God’s timing (2 Thessalonians 2:7)
The greater use of mystery and its derivatives within the Scriptures is about things which were a mystery in the Old Testament but are now disclosed (unveiled) in the New Testament in the person and work of Jesus Christ (Romans 16:25; Ephesians 3:3-4, 9; Colossians 1:26; 2:2; 4:3).
Other mysteries include the Jews and the Gentiles as each race is interwoven in God’s plan of redemption through Jesus Christ (Romans 11:25; Ephesians 3:6; Colossians 1:27).
Some mysteries are revealed only after a person surrenders in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ (Ephesians 6:19; 1 Timothy 3:9, 16).
Still other mysteries are interspersed in the last days’ events (Revelation 1:20; 10:7; 17:5, 7)
What is not a mystery is that God will reveal what He wants when He wants to whom He wants (Exodus 33:19). God’s mysteries are Divine mysteries, and that truth makes them beyond the scope of our frail, human intellect, except for what He reveals via His Spirit within us believers.
Are We Meant to Know Everything about God?
If we knew everything about God, our heads would explode. I’m kidding, but can you even imagine just a glimpse of the wonders we would behold? The mind of the Lord God is too much for us to take in, and we hold Him in reverent fear and awe – worship He duly deserves. We can, therefore, consider not knowing all there is to know about God a kindness from Him.
One day when Christians are in glory, we will understand as much as God wills us to, and we will be perfectly content with every morsel about God we can take in. We know very little about our infinite, holy Creator, but we know enough. Unregenerate people (the unsaved) know virtually nothing save what God has shown them in creation and the morality inherent in every human. But He gives everyone enough knowledge of Himself to declare man has no excuse to not acknowledge Him (see again Romans 1:19-20).
Why Does God Reveal Mysteries?
Augustine of Hippo declared regarding the two Testaments of the Bible, “The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.” Many mysteries as recorded in the Old Testament are given full revelation in the New Testament.
Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words tells us, “In the ordinary sense a ‘mystery’ implies knowledge withheld; its Scriptural significance is truth revealed. Hence the terms especially associated with the subject are ‘made known,’ ‘manifested,’ ‘revealed,’ ‘preached,’ ‘understand,’ ‘dispensation.’” The definition given above may be best illustrated by the following passage: "the mystery which hath been hid from all ages and generations: but now hath it been manifested to His saints" (Colossians 1:26 RV).
Stephen W. Carlson, in the Hollman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, states, “Jesus used musterion only once, and this was in reference to the mysteries or secrets about the kingdom that He revealed and explained to His disciples (Matt. 13:11; cp. Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10).” He goes on to say, “Paul used musterion 21 times, and on each occasion the secret is already known from previous revelation (see Rom. 16:25; Eph. 1:9; 6:19; Col. 2:2; 4:3; 1 Tim. 3:16), or it is explained in the context (see Rom. 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:51; Eph. 3:1–13; 5:32; Col. 1:25–27) — that is, it is no longer a secret. The final four uses of musterion in the NT occur in Revelation, where the secret is a symbol that needs to be decoded (1:20; 10:7; 17:5, 7).”
Mysteries from the Old Testament find their answers in Jesus Christ!
Does God Work in Mysterious Ways?
God does work in ways which are mysterious to us, as we understand the term. When we consider who God is, we will appreciate better why God doesn’t reveal everything either all at once, a bit at a time, or not at all. He orders His creation and its history according to His perfect will and timing and for His purposes. We cannot even attempt to mess with perfection; we can, however, marvel at our perfect God and Savior and how He inclines His ear to hear those of us who love Him (Psalm 40:1).
People say “God works in mysterious ways” in various scenarios, such as:
A healthy baby is conceived and born to a woman who is “advanced in years and barren” (Genesis 18:11; Luke 1:7).
A healthy baby is delivered a month before the mother’s due date.
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43).
Coal workers trapped in a fallen mine are rescued days after anyone believes they can be found alive.
The Christ child is carried and born to a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23).
A father who vehemently opposed his daughter’s engagement is rescued from ruin by the same man. The father sees past his hypocrisy and lives to hold his grandchild.
Saul of Tarsus heads to Damascus to persecute Christians and instead, meets the Lord Jesus, who changes his life into one that glorifies Him (Acts 9:4).
A man is held over at work and on his way home sees an accident scene he may have been part of had he gone home at his normal time.
What Does This Mean for Us?
Many situations exist when people can proclaim, “God works in mysterious ways.” Three things are remarkably true in this sentence.
God never stops working (John 5:17).
We don’t always know what God is doing (Isaiah 55:9).
It is God who works in our lives for good (Romans 8:28). (On the contrary, the devil works in our lives for ill - 1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 3:8).
As you consider God’s ways, rejoice in knowing He is sovereign and He holds our lives in His hands. God does everything with perfect love and justice. That’s cause for worship and praise.
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