Does God Work In Mysterious Ways?

However, that does not mean He is mysterious because He has revealed Himself quite extensively in the Bible, nature, and especially in Jesus, who shows us a wonderful picture of what the Triune God is like, to the point that we can truly and intimately know Him well.

I hear the phrase "God works in mysterious ways," most often when an event or experience is beyond human comprehension or understanding, whether it be good or bad, and deemed impossible, leaving people totally bewildered, frustrated, and in despair because there are no ready or easy answers to explain their experience or circumstances. If you search for this phrase on Google, you will discover 22,800,000 results!

The phrase is related to the "everything happens for a reason" response when people believe God is working things for good, and though they might not immediately know that good outcome, if they look for it, they will find it. These phrases are a 'spiritual' way to say God is responsible and or allowed something to happen, whether good or bad. It is an eternal truth that God's ways and thoughts are different and higher than ours, but does that make them a mysterious Biblical truth or act of God?

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV)

The truth is if we seek, we shall find (Matthew 7:7–8), and "those who seek the Lord understand all things" (Proverbs 28:5).

The Mystery of God's Hiddenness

As Isaiah wondered at the unsearchable mystery of God's ways, he personally said numerous times that God could hide Himself (Isaiah 1:15; 8:17; 19:20). The Psalmist asked, "Why do You hide Your face and forget our affliction and oppression? (Psalm 44:24) Human beings don't always know what God is doing (Isaiah 55:9).

The word 'mystery' is not found in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, the word "mystery" does not involve any idea of mysteriousness in the modern sense. The Greek word most often translated as "mystery" is "mustérion" (moos-tay'-ree-on) which means a secret that is known to some but incapable of being known to all until it is revealed in time in one form or another and is first used regarding the will of God and His counsels that were once hidden in the Old Testament but now revealed in the Gospels as particular truths or details of Christian revelation. The word is a derivative of 'muo' (to shut the mouth), a secret or "mystery" through the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites.

Jesus used 'musterion' once to refer to the mysteries or secrets about the Kingdom that He revealed and explained to His disciples (Matthew 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10). The Apostle Paul used it 21 times, and the 'secret' was already known from previous revelation or revealed and explained in the context (Romans 11:25; 6:25; Ephesians 1:9; 3:1–13; 5:32; 6:19; 1 Corinthians 15:51; Colossians 1:25-27;2:2; 4:3; 1 Timothy 3:16).

He gave a definition when he wrote:

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me." (Colossians 1:24-29 ESV)

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the MYSTERY of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." (Ephesians 1:9 ESV – emphasis mine)

The greater use of the word "mystery" is about things that were a mystery in the Old Testament but are now disclosed (unveiled) in the New Testament in the person and work of Jesus only after a person surrenders in repentance and trusting-faith to Him as Lord and Savior (Ephesians 6:19; 1 Timothy 3:9,16). It includes the Jews and the Gentiles becoming interwoven in God's plan of redemption through Jesus (Romans 11:25; 16:25; Ephesians 3:4-9; Colossians 1:26-27; 2:2; 4:3). God will reveal what He wants when He wants to whom He wants (Exodus 33:19).