God works in mysterious ways

English Alternative forms en the Lord works in mysterious ways Etymology Possibly originating from a poem by William Cowper (floruit 1731–1800), whose first stanza reads: God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform; / He plants His footsteps in the sea / And rides upon the storm. Despite the late attestation, the general sentiment of the phrase does hold apparent wide-ranging and prehistoric theological currency. Pronunciation en LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-God works in mysterious ways.wav Southern England Proverb proverb ~work[s]; way[s] Expressing confidence that a conundrum has a solution despite it not being apparent. en everything happens for a reason Commenting on a situation that has led to some unexpected outcome in a surprising or convoluted way. Commenting that a seemingly unfortunate or unfavourable situation or change may be beneficial later or in the long run. en every cloud has a silver lining everything happens for a reason en Person A: It seems that I'm about to be fired from my job.Person B: Well, God works in mysterious ways — maybe it'll be the kick you need to apply to university... Usage notes As a figure of speech, it sometimes does not necessarily denote the religious views of the speaker. Rarely used sarcastically. Translations an unfavorable situation may be beneficial later Arabic: ar لِلّٰهِ فِي خَلْقِهِ شُؤُونٌ Azerbaijani: az sən saydığını say, gör fələk nə sayır, az Allahın işini bilmək olmaz Chinese: Mandarin: cmn 神用奧秘行動前來 shényòng àomì xíngdòng qiánlái Danish: da Herrens veje er uransagelige Dutch: nl Gods wegen zijn ondoorgrondelijk Finnish: fi tutkimattomat ovat Herran tiet French: fr les voies de Dieu sont impénétrables, fr les voies du Seigneur sont impénétrables German: de die Wege des Herrn sind unergründlich; de Gottes Wege sind unergründlich Greek: el άγνωστοι αι βουλαί του Κυρίου Hindi: hi ईश्वर की माया कहीं धूप कहीं छाया, hi ईश्वर रहस्यमयी तरीक़ों से काम करता है Hungarian: hu Isten útjai kifürkészhetetlenek Icelandic: is vegir drottinns eru órannskakanlegir Indonesian: id Tuhan bekerja dengan cara misterius Italian: it le vie del Signore sono imperscrutabili Japanese: ja 神は独特で奇妙なやり方をする kami wa dokutoku de kimyō na yarikata o suru Korean: ko 새옹지마(塞翁之馬) Norwegian: Bokmål: nb Herrens veier er uransakelige Polish: pl niezbadane są wyroki Boskie Portuguese: pt Deus escreve certo por linhas tortas Russian: ru пути́ госпо́дни неисповеди́мы Sanskrit: sa अचिन्त्या हि मणेर्मन्त्रस्य देवस्य च शक्तिः incomprehensible indeed is the power of a gem, a mantra, and God, sa देवस्य लीला केवलम् it is merely the play/sport of God Serbo-Croatian: sh čudni su putevi Božji Spanish: es los caminos del Señor son inescrutables Swedish: sv Guds vägar äro outgrundliga, sv outgrundliga äro Herrens vägar Turkish: tr Mevla'nın işine akıl sır ermez See also en blessing in disguise en sentences