The essence of the famous saying that will be discussed is that it is useless for a person to look for the meaning of the events of his life and try to independently build his own destiny. Even situations that seem dead-end can lead to a happy ending, since the ways of the Lord are inscrutable.
The Bible is a storehouse of wisdom
The book of books - the Bible - has enriched our language with many popular expressions. We often use most of them to convey thoughts figuratively. One such expression is “the ways of the Lord are mysterious.” We use it to encourage a loved one in the event of difficult life trials. We say it when we are surprised by the intricacy of random events that led to a successful solution to a complex issue. We often hear this phrase from the church pulpit during a priest’s sermon. What is the original meaning of the phrase “the ways of the Lord are mysterious” and who first uttered these words?
The road to the temple - the ways of the Lord are mysterious
In what sense is this common biblical phrase used?
We already understand where the phrase “The ways of the Lord are mysterious” came from among the “people.” What does this mean in the modern world? How different is the understanding of the expression by today's people from Orthodox believers of past centuries? The clergy believe that the difference is significant.
Previously, people more easily trusted God's plans and submitted to all changes in their lives. The believers were confident that their path was determined from above, and it led only to the salvation of the soul. There was practically no desire to argue with God and His plans. There are cases when the most difficult trials that befell a person, passed with dignity, prayer and gratitude, brought the person to a new level of life. And then people said that God led man to happiness, or they said that the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. No one even thought about what this meant, so strong was the faith in God’s plans.
Of course, now few people can boast of such strong faith. It is not for nothing that so many troubles and misfortunes occur in people’s lives. According to the priests, until a person gives his life into the hands of God and passes all the planned milestones of the path, he will be subjected to tests. In the modern world, we quite often say a well-known phrase as sympathy or consolation when we don’t know how to explain an unpleasant incident and encourage a person. There is no sound in her of the former admiration and awe of God’s plans, only recognition of her weakness and defenselessness before higher powers.
The ways of the Lord are mysterious: what does this mean?
The Apostle Paul is the author of the expression “the ways of the Lord are mysterious.” In his letter to the Romans he writes:
“Oh, the depth of wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies and unsearchable His ways!” (Rom. 11:33).
Thus, in the original source the word “unsearchable” is used. This means that it is impossible to explore God’s plans, that is, to find out and study them. The human mind is not able to follow the “footsteps” of the Divine plan and understand all its turns. The interpreter of the Gospel, Blessed Theophylact, writes about this:
“He did not say about the ways: incomprehensible, but: unsearchable, that is, they cannot even be explored. His ways, that is, the methods of economy, not only cannot be comprehended, but even explored, that is, one cannot even see a trace of them.”
The Apostle Paul in his words expresses amazement at the Wisdom of God. He is amazed by the greatness of His Providence for the universe and each individual person.
Over time, the word “unsearchable” was replaced by the familiar “inscrutable” to us. Translated from Slavic, this means something that cannot be expressed in words. Something that defies understanding is incomprehensible to the mind.
Thus, the general meaning of the popular expression in question is the following: a person is unable to penetrate the depths of Divine Providence and identify the cause-and-effect relationships of what happened.
The meaning of the phrase “the ways of the Lord are mysterious” lies in the impossibility of cognizing the wisdom of God’s Plan. The phrase is used to express the idea that even the difficult and sorrowful events of life are controlled by the Lord for the salvation of the immortal soul of man.
“No one will argue with God, and He does not give an account to anyone, and one thing is certain, that everything that He does is for good, is perfect goodness” (Archimandrite John Krestyankin).
Meaning of the phrase
In the Bible
The Apostle Paul instructs people to accept on faith, the power and justice of Almighty God, to whom alone it is given to know everything at all times. The very thought of the great mystery of God's ways has the ability to console in times of severe trials. And it is not the imperfect human mind that will help to understand it correctly, but the soul, inclined to believe without evidence.
In modern world
The modern, overly rational world creates the illusion that a person is able to independently make plans for the future, evaluate and analyze events, ignoring the Holy Scriptures. Humility becomes the rarest virtue, and pride eats away humanity like rye.
However, all vainglorious thoughts are smashed against the stone wall of the universe and convince the lost that support should be sought only from the Creator.
God works in mysterious ways
In the first line of the Creed, Christians confess the Lord as Almighty. This means that He holds everything in His Divine hand, directing everything to good. The all-wise Creator, who harmoniously arranged the Universe, maintains consistency and order in it, seeing everything outside of time and space.
“God knows everything in advance, what was, and what is, and what will be; He knows everything before the event, and sees it as if it were inherent and accomplished before Him, because everything from God has its being and existence and everything, before being, is in His creative mind” (Rev. Simeon the New Theologian).
The Divine Plan extends to His entire creation: from the Heavenly Powers to the lilies of the field. But it is impossible for the limited human mind to comprehend the full depth of God’s Providence. For man, the paths are inscrutable, through which the Lord Almighty, as the Source of good, leads all events to salvation and goodness.
“God rules the world, and everything that happens in heaven and under heaven is done according to the judgment of the All-Wise and Almighty God, incomprehensible in His wisdom and omnipotence, incomprehensible in His government” (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov).
At the age of one, for a child, his apartment seems like the whole world. As he grows up, he learns about the existence of many countries. All this happens gradually; an unprepared child’s mind is not able to perceive the scale of space. Likewise, adults, who always remain children of the Heavenly Father, should not try to comprehend the full depth and wisdom of the Divine Plan.
The Lord Himself warned Abba Anthony about this. The following story in Fatherland (a collection of biographies of ascetics and monks) tells about this.
Anthony the Great, an early Christian desert monk, pondered for a long time about the depth of Divine Providence. Why do some live to a ripe old age while others die in infancy? Why do evil people often prosper and enjoy material wealth, while good people experience poverty and misfortune? After a long prayer, Abba Anthony heard a voice: “Antony! Pay attention to yourself and do not subject yourself to the study of God’s destinies, because this is harmful to your soul.”
Parables about the ways of the Lord
About the elder
One Christian parable tells how little we understand about what is happening around us.
The old man, who was trying to understand the world around him, constantly asked the Lord for help in understanding what was happening. One day an angel appeared to the old man and offered to climb a tree to watch what was happening below for three days. On the first day, the old man saw how a richly dressed horseman, having decided to rest under a tree, left a bag of gold coins there. The next day, a poor peasant stopped to have lunch under a tree and found gold. On the third day, the food left by the peasant was found by a beggar. At this time, the horseman returned and killed him, suspecting him of stealing money. The indignant old man was already ready to renounce his faith. However, the angel explained that the rider was a tax collector known for his greed. The beggar is a former robber who prayed for death to atone for past sins. After his murder, the publican will repent and believe in the Lord, and the peasant, ruined by large taxes, will be able, thanks to the treasure, to save his family from starvation.
About the monk
To trust the Almighty without demanding explanations from him - this is what the story of a hermit monk, who could not understand God’s plans, teaches us.
In a dream, a monk traveled with a mysterious stranger who behaved very strangely. On the first day of the journey, he stole from the house of the peasant who sheltered them a golden cup, a gift from a neighbor. The next night, the stranger set fire to the hut of the poor man who sheltered them. The monk's companion asked the third peasant, who allowed the wanderers to spend the night, to be his son as a guide and threw the young man into the river. Three days of travel became a complete disappointment in faith for the monk. However, the companion explained everything to the elder. It turned out that the golden cup was poisoned, the dead young man was supposed to become a cruel robber at the instigation of his father, and in the ashes of the house the peasant would discover a rich treasure. The latter will be able to provide a decent life for his family. A father who has lost his son will repent of his sins, believe in God and will help people until the end of his days. After these explanations, the monk woke up and from then on no longer doubted that the Lord knew better than anyone how to arrange everything.
Thy will be done!
The wisest king of all times and peoples, Solomon, looking at the greatness of the Wisdom of God, exclaimed:
“For what man is able to know the counsel of God? or who can understand what is pleasing to the Lord?” (Wis.9:13).
It was precisely this thought that the Apostle Paul expressed when he used the popular expression “the ways of the Lord are mysterious.” At the same time, the apostle further adds the praise of the Lord, saying:
“For all things are from Him, and by Him, and to Him” (Rom. 11:36).
We are called to trust God as the All-Wise Ruler of all things. And in the words of Blessed Theodoret:
“It is fitting for all to look to Him, giving thanks for what is already there and asking for care for the future.”
The Lord Jesus Christ himself teaches Christians to have complete trust in the Lord when he gives his disciples a sample prayer in which the words sound:
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
Further, Christ shows an example of completely surrendering himself into the hands of Divine Providence. As a person, he was afraid of future torment and death. And praying until he sweated blood before His suffering on the cross in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ repeated:
“Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39).
And Divine Providence arranged it in such a way that the shameful execution of Jesus Christ on the cross became the door to the Heavenly Kingdom for all who believe in the saving Sacrifice of Christ.
Thus, in the life of every person, even seemingly dead-end situations and sorrowful events are arranged by the Lord for good. A Christian must, with prayer and trust in God, accept everything that happens to him. This is precisely the meaning of humility - to see the ruling Hand of the Divine Father in everything.
“We must be convinced of only one thing, that God sends everything for our benefit, and not to explore the method itself, and not to grumble, and not to be discouraged when we do not know it. This is what Providence consists mainly of, that the reasons are incomprehensible to us” (St. John Chrysostom).
Parables explaining the meaning
First parable
Photo: Privolgsk.cerkov.ru
In Christianity, this phrase is found in two famous clergy. The first tells about a sunken ship from which only one sailor managed to escape. Having climbed ashore, he built a hut and began to wait for him to be rescued. A lot of time passed, a fire broke out in his home, destroying everything he had managed to stock up on.
At this moment, the young man despaired, beginning to exclaim that he had undeservedly received such a punishment. At that moment a ship appeared on the horizon. It turned out that the team examined the high fire, deciding that someone needed help. Otherwise, they would never have taken this route near the island.
For a Christian there are no coincidences
It may often seem to a person that life is a collection of random events. But the Orthodox believer knows that every phenomenon is a link of Divine Providence in a single chain of the order of the world. When we stand still, it may seem to us that the forest around us is dense and scary. And only after walking forward, we will see that behind the spreading branches there is a calm, picturesque lake. Thus, difficult events in our lives can be the beginning of positive changes. You just need to trust and thank God.
The following parable illustrates this clearly.
One peasant's horse disappeared. In response to his neighbors’ worries, he calmly replied: “My horse just disappeared. All the will of God". After some time, the missing animal itself came to the stall, and even brought a young stallion with it. The neighbors groaned with envy and congratulated the happy owner of two excellent horses. To this the peasant only smiled quietly and thanked God.
The peasant's son decided to try out a new horse. While riding, he fell off his horse and broke his leg. In response to the sorrowful lamentations of his neighbors, the peasant praised God and said that it was so pleasing to the Lord. Friends gave up on the quirky old man: his son was sick, but he was happy. But suddenly the war came, and all the healthy guys were taken to fight. Only the son of an old peasant remained in the village with his broken leg.
So, a person who trusts the Lord and His Divine Providence has no accidents. Each event is like another stitch that the Wise Lord makes on the fabric of human life and the entire world history.
“There are no coincidences in life and cannot be, God the Provider rules the world, and every circumstance has a higher spiritual meaning and is given by God to fulfill this eternal goal - to know God” (Archimandrite John Krestyankin).
