The ways of the Lord are mysterious; the meaning of the interpretation of these phrases. The phrase “The ways of the Lord are mysterious”: what does it mean, origin story
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The publishing house of our monastery has published a new book - “The Life of the Hieromartyr Veniamin (Kazan), Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdov, and those like him who suffered the Venerable Martyr Sergius (Shein), the martyrs Yuri Novitsky and John Kovsharov » .
In the new book of the famous Russian hagiographer Archimandrite Damascene (Orlovsky), the reader is offered the life of Metropolitan Veniamin (Kazan) of Petrograd - one of the first holy martyrs who did not sin with their soul or conscience during the persecution that began and gave their life for Christ and His Church .
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all videos →Mysterious are the ways of the Lord that lead to salvation
The life of the soul is accomplished by the will of God and the power of God, but man is required to have his will in bringing repentance to God. The period of repentance required by the sinner is known to the One God. The repentant sinner, even being, as it were, forgotten by God, as it seems to him, at the wonderful discretion of God, gains spiritual benefit, comes to prosperity: the Lord leads to salvation! The wondrous wisdom and goodness of God is in God’s allowance for man to fall.
Every business requires a spiritual attitude towards oneself, and not a universal one. To great regret, for the most part you see and hear grumbling around you and within yourself, unwillingness to obey what the Lord sends, the demand for fair treatment and other insane manifestations of resistance to the will of God. How great is our weakness! How weak is our faith! It’s not our business to argue why this or that happens to us; you need to know that this is the will of God, you need to humble yourself, but demanding, so to speak, an account from God is extreme madness and pride. So, everyone must demand from himself (that is, force himself to do) the fulfillment of all the commandments and everything that other people do to us, that is done to us without the assistance of people - consider the righteous judgment of God for our benefit, our salvation and humbly all that tolerate.
This will be soul-saving and will bring peace to our hearts.
God! Thy Holy will be done.
After the greeting, I ask the listeners one biblical riddle: which of the characters in the Bible told a lie three times, and God was with him, and as soon as he told the truth once, God left him. To answer, let’s just open the book of Judges 16:4-22.
Let us now turn to the 11th chapter of the book of Job, verses 7-8. “Can you find God by searching…” We can also read about this in Romans 11:33 “…how incomprehensible are His destiny and unsearchable His ways!”
In the book of Joshua we can read about Rahab the harlot (Joshua 2:1 and 6:16-24), in the 2nd book of Samuel, chapter 11 about David and Bathsheba.
In this amazing dream, a man approached him and simply demanded that the monk go with him. They immediately, without much preparation, left the shelter of this hermit, and in the evening they spent the night in a remote village with some person who shared great joy with them. There was a long-standing enmity between him and his neighbor, there were no visible ways to make peace, no common ground, but literally today (on this day) the neighbor came to him in peace and gave him a golden cup as a sign of reconciliation.
But in the morning, when they set off on their journey, the hermit was very surprised when his companion showed him the most beautiful cup that he had stolen from this hospitable host. Taken aback by such deceit, the monk barely opened his mouth when this man sternly told him: “Be silent, these are the ways of God...”
So they walked for another whole day and in the evening they came to one hut that was almost falling from disrepair. It seemed inconvenient for them to disturb such a poor man, but the owner received them very friendly and even treated them to what he himself had for dinner - a bowl of lean stew.
The next day, when they set off again, the hermit saw that his companion was a little behind. When he heard the steps of his fellow traveler, he turned around and saw the hut in which they had spent the night burning. To a direct question, this incomprehensible companion clearly answered that it was he who set fire to the hut. Upset by his behavior, the hermit wanted to turn away and leave him, but he again uttered yesterday’s phrase: “Understand, these are the ways of God...”
They walked on in silence, and the hermit reasoned to himself - well, how can this be God’s ways, God would never do that!
In the evening they had to spend the night in the first house they came across, although the look of the gloomy owner did not inspire confidence at all. But it quickly got dark, and they still stayed overnight in this house. It seemed to them that this man was hardly capable of anything good; they should, apparently, be wary of this owner. His face brightened only briefly when he made some request to his little son, who was fiddling around in the corner. The night passed, and the next morning our monk's companion asked the owner to have the boy accompany them to the main road in this area.
The owner did not agree for a long time, but was still forced to let the baby go with them. After some time, they approached a narrow bridge thrown over a mountain river. And, to be more precise, these were just a few perches, while below the river roared and gurgled with rapids and waterfalls. The hermit risked going first.
Having reached the opposite bank, he turned around. Oh God! His companion pushed the boy into the raging stream. The noise of the stream drowned out his dying screams, and soon he completely disappeared from view.
The completely indignant monk shouted in his hearts: “Yes, you are Satan himself! I won’t take another step with you...” But this time the companion repeated to him:
“Be silent, these are the ways of God!” At the same time, an indescribable heavenly light illuminated his face.
Wanting to reassure the hermit, he continued to say: “Do you want to know the reason for these events?!” Yes, I took the cup from the first house, since the reconciliation was feigned, and the cup was poisoned. As soon as the owner tried to use it, he would immediately die on the spot. The second case was not clear to you either. And it’s even simpler...
In the rubbish of a burnt hut, the owner must find precious stones left by one of his ancestors. They will help the poor man, and rebuild a new house, and start a new, this time comfortable life. Now comes today's incident. The owner, out of love, would inspire the boy to become just like him, a robber and murderer.
Grief over a lost son can still help him change, and it will be a blessing to his father. Isn’t it?.. You see, God had good and wise intentions in each case, although they were incomprehensible to you and even seemed displeasing to God.”
Having finished his story, the mysterious companion (and it was an angel of God!) simply disappeared into thin air. The hermit woke up with tears in his eyes. This dream taught him to trust God, without trying to reason and comprehend His, God’s, actions.
Finally, I would like to give you one more example from the Bible. Let's open Genesis, chapter 43. The steward, the ruler of Joseph's house, unquestioningly accepted the commands of the owner. “Throw these people into prison!” or “Go invite them to dinner with me!” or “Give them back their silver!” or “Bring them back quickly!..” He knew how to trust and accept all decisions and requests, no matter how strange and contradictory they might look at first glance. Much later, he saw God's great plan for Joseph. I think that each of us should develop this important habit - trusting the Lord to go to the end. It is not for nothing that it is written in the Epistle of James: “A man with double thoughts is not firm in all his ways.” (James 1:8)
There are phrases that help you better understand this world. Thanks to such words, people can act more correctly and can also gain a correct understanding of the world. Many often hear the Lord’s mysterious ways, but do not always think about what this means and how it applies to each individual.
Before analyzing the actual phrase, the ways of the Lord are mysterious, the meaning of which we will consider further, let us turn to the primary source, which is the Bible, or rather the New Testament, the letter to the Romans from the Apostle Paul.
As is known, this supreme apostle, who was also called the “apostle of the Gentiles” for his preaching to many nations, wrote various Epistles that became part of the canonical scripture.
These Epistles include many wise thoughts and clarification of faith for various nations.
The source of the phrase in question is the following line (Romans 11:33): “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies and unsearchable are His ways!” In fact, the word used here is inscrutable, which can also sound in Russian as inscrutable, the meaning is almost identical.
Expression propagation
Similar thoughts may well be found in various proverbs and folk sayings. The idea contained in this phrase is based on the following postulates:
- One should not try to understand the whole world with a simple human mind, this is not possible;
- attempts to understand the world completely are futile for a person;
- in everything there is some kind of global plan that is diverse and inaccessible to understanding;
- people sometimes do not understand the causes and results of various events; many relationships are beyond human understanding;
- It is better to accept the diversity and complexity of this world than to try to thoroughly understand everything.
Note! Only by special grace and the most devoted ascetics can the Lord lift the veil of secrecy. He endows some saints with the gift of clairvoyance, and as a result, such people can predict certain events or recognize something hidden. However, even such people do not have comprehensive knowledge; on a global scale, they have only grains, although a little more than others.
The thought in question appears in the culture of many peoples, and this is not surprising. When people reach a certain level of spiritual development, they acquire similar thoughts and understanding of the world, because it is natural, this is how the world works, you just need to understand some facts. The translation of the phrase is common in various languages:
- in English - God moves in a mysterious way (this phrase is used in various songs of English-speaking poets, there is a verse with the same name) or The ways of God are inscrutable, it is also possible to say Mysterious are the ways of the Lord;
- in Latin - Investigabiles viae Domini or Viae Domini imperceptae sunt;
- in Ukrainian - the paths of the Lord are incomprehensible;
- in Spanish – los caminos de Dios son inescrutables;
- in French - les voies de Dieu sont impénétrables.
Why are the ways of the Lord mysterious?
The Apostle Paul and other holy ascetics, who later repeatedly used this expression in their own sermons, simply talk about the scale of this world, in which both molecules and planets move according to the will of the Lord.
Moreover, they move and act not just in concert, but based on the global plan arranged by the Lord. Therefore, if a person strives to understand this plan, then he simply strives to compare with the Almighty and considers himself capable of truly becoming equal to Him.
Saint John Climacus writes well about this: “It is disastrous to be curious about the depth of God’s destinies, for those who are curious sail in the ship of pride.” Thus, you need to understand the word inscrutable, that this indicates fundamental inaccessibility and incomprehensibility. Moreover, such inaccessibility is not at all a reason for sadness, especially for a believer.
Attention! The Lord arranged the world wisely and for the good of man. Therefore, the believer, although he cannot understand His ways, has a clear confidence in the ultimate goodness of this world. A good example here is the well-known expression: “Every event is done for the better.”
Initially, a person, with his primitive perception, cannot understand what some event or situation means, but in everything there is a certain providence that arranges things in the right way. Accordingly, sometimes it is wiser to simply rely on such an extraterrestrial will of the Creator.
Fatalism and faith
When describing what the phrase in question means, it is necessary to note one more semantic emphasis, which is also very significant. This emphasis should be expressed in the words: “No one knows his fate, only the Lord.” Only the Lord really knows about the fate of this world and each person individually.
Therefore, an individual should neither complain about fate, nor try to guess something significant and have 100th confidence in something. Ultimately, the determining factor is the divine principle, which puts the whole world in order.
Should a believer then completely surrender to fatalism (a concept in which every event is considered predetermined and human choice does not matter) and do nothing? Of course, for an Orthodox the question is banal and rhetorical and the answer to it is clearly negative. After all, everyone knows about free will and what this means is the need for everyone’s personal choice.
Note! The inscrutability of the Lord’s ways is also a reason for joy. After all, this fact emphasizes the diversity and amazingness of this world, which is something much greater than the spectrum that is accessible to human understanding, and every person is part of this amazing creation.
In particular, each individual chooses whether to go to the salvation of his own soul or succumb to passions and sins. Of course, the ways of the Lord are inscrutable, but people are given a choice between winning the Kingdom of Heaven and inaction on this path.
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Let's sum it up
The expression considered here does not at all indicate fatal predestination. There is a divine plan in this world, and it is good, but also in this world there is Satan, who with his demons is capable of tempting a person, and this is also part of the plan. Therefore, no one has canceled the personal efforts of the believer; they simply should be directed not toward understanding the ways of the Lord, but toward cleansing one’s own soul and cultivating faith.
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The great wisdom of Biblical stories, which lies in the lives of many, even unbelievers, is undeniable. Every person, encountering misfortune or inexhaustible melancholy on the path of life, looks into the Bible and finds support and a lot of valuable advice there. While searching, people often come across the following phrase: "God works in mysterious ways". What does it mean?
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The sound of the phrase in different languages (Latin/English and Russian):
- Investigabiles viae Domini or Viae Domini imperceptae sunt.
- God works in mysterious ways.
Analysis and origin of the phrase
What does the expression “The ways of the Lord are mysterious” mean?
As a rule, people hear “The ways of the Lord are mysterious” during personal conversations with a clergyman as a word of support and moral consolation. But only the vast minority of people think about the origin of this phrase and its location in the New Testament.
If you pick up the Bible and open it to the epistle of the Apostle Paul, you will see a verse that is the first mention of “the ways of the Lord.” Although the wording is slightly different, the meaning does not change. The fact is that many phrases from the Bible are difficult to translate into Russian verbatim, and clergy have to slightly distort the text for ease of understanding.
It is quite difficult to interpret this saying, since it needs to be felt with soul and heart, without adding an ounce of analytics. in the verse he admired the actions of the Lord and admits that his plans are extremely difficult for ordinary mortals to understand. And there is no need to even try to figure out the path along which God can send a person. Many are convinced that there is no need to try to look into God's plans, they are inscrutable and must be treated even with caution, otherwise you can bring trouble.
For those who have difficulty understanding the phrase “The ways of the Lord are mysterious,” we can draw an analogy with the Russian proverb, known to everyone, “Everything that is done is done for the better.” They say approximately one thing - in the life of every person, the path is outlined by God and everything is decided.
What is the meaning of the phrase “The ways of the Lord are mysterious”
What do modern people mean when they say these words? How has the interpretation changed after several hundred years? In times past, people believed more easily that life's path is planned from above and each person, without doubting for a second, trusted the planning of life to the Lord.
In the present, few people can boast of such a degree of faith. People still continue to say the well-known phrase as sympathy or in search of consolation, but the former admiration has completely disappeared, giving way only to weakness and defenselessness before the forces of the Creator.
The phrase is both simple and difficult for modern people to perceive, since in the twenty-first century people try to be as independent as possible, mistakenly, not obeying the laws of God.
The clergy believe that humility before the Lord is expressed in gratitude for all the little things that come along life's path.
People who actively study the Bible can confidently identify a list of phrases that are embedded in the basis of this religion. Naturally, the list also includes the phrase discussed in this article.
Parables that will help you understand the meaning of the famous phrase:
- Parable about the old man and the angel.
- Parable of a hermit monk.
Parable of the Elder and the Angel
There are many different tales about the power of faith, but one of them most colorfully describes the topic of this article.
One elder could not come to terms with the hardships of fate; his mind was tormented by thousands of questions, the answers to which he tried to find from the Lord, asking them every day during prayer. On one of these days, an angel descended on him and told him to sit on a tree for three days, watching what was happening below. And the elder fulfilled the instructions.
On the first day, a picture appeared before his eyes - a rich horseman losing a bag filled with gold. On the second day, a farmer who came to that place for lunch finds the bag. On the third day, a beggar came to the place to eat the food left by the farmer. Next a horseman appeared and killed the beggar, confident that it was he who had stolen the purse of gold.
After such injustice, the sage climbed down from the tree, full of indignation. He was ready to renounce faith and God for allowing such chaos to happen, but the angel stopped him by telling him what had happened.
He said that the rider was a cruel tribute collector who legally robbed the people. And he killed not just a beggar, but a robber who begged for death in order to atone for past sins. And the tax collector will then repent of his sins and turn to God, begging for forgiveness. The farmer was ruined, and the bag will save his family from hunger.
Parable of the Hermit Monk
In a deep cave, on the outskirts, a hermit monk settled, praying and leading an extremely righteous lifestyle. The idea of penetrating into the plans of God did not let him go. One day, while he was sleeping, a stranger came to him and called for him. They walked for three days, and with each passing hour the monk became more and more disillusioned with his faith.
On the first night, before his eyes, his companion stole a golden cup from a peasant’s house, given by a neighbor in honor of reconciliation.
The second time, he set fire to the house of a poor man who was sheltering them for the night.
On the third day, he asked one of the peasants to give his son as a guide and threw him into the river.
And only at the end of the journey did he tell the monk about the true meaning of his actions, about God’s plans. It turned out that the cup was poisoned, and the next morning the peasant would find the treasure and become rich. The dead boy would have grown up to be a terrible sinner and would have taken many souls with him. And after the death of his son, the father will begin to suffer and grieve so much that he will become the most devout person and will help many with advice.
It is worth blindly believing in the Lord, completely relying on the will that he chose even before a person was born.
Sometimes it seems to us that what is happening in our lives or the lives of our loved ones, relatives, and acquaintances is unfair. We don’t understand why God allowed this or that to happen in someone’s life, considering it wrong, condemning it. At the same time, completely forgetting about the commandment " Judge not, lest ye be judged".
We don't remember our past lives, so we don't know why we suffer. But knowing about the existence of the law of cause and effect, we can assume that if someone was killed in this life, then most likely in a past life he himself was a murderer, and thereby simply receives karmic retribution in order to understand from his own experience the fallacy such an action and not repeat such a mistake in the future.
The ways of the Lord are mysterious to us.
Is our the future is based on our past. The program of our life is drawn up by specialists in the hierarchy of God in order to take into account many nuances, among which karmic debt and measures to work it off are necessarily taken into account, and a specific goal is set for developing the necessary qualities and skills in the soul in order to move further in evolution.
In a living Cosmos, everything must always constantly develop and progress, and everything that does not want to develop is destroyed as a marriage and thus has no future.
Our choices determine our future.
We are given the opportunity to make choices in certain situations in our lives. By our choice we determine our future, we choose the energies with which our soul is filled. We do a good deed - we are filled with the energies of good, we do an evil deed - we accumulate the energies of evil in our soul. Whichever energy is greater in our soul after ten incarnations on Earth, we begin to belong to that hierarchy - God or the Devil.
God grants his soul freedom of choice up to 30%, which means that heavenly programmers, when drawing up programs for a person belonging to the hierarchy of God, 70% form a rigid scenario of events that a person cannot avoid in his life, but in 30% of situations he is presented with several different situations from which he can choose.
Different paths lead to different destinies.
Different paths will lead the soul to the development of different types of energies, provide a different fate - more or less happy, which will be determined by the person himself within the framework of the permitted freedom of choice. Thereby forming in a person, through choice, the energy of creativity, developing and nurturing in a person high moral qualities and professionalism.
The devil does not provide his souls with freedom of choice; his souls develop according to a rigid linear program without the right to deviate from it even one step. Developing unquestioning submission in their souls, forming predominantly negative types of energies in the souls of their subordinates.
Since our program of life is unknown to us, the ways of God are unknown, which remain inscrutable to us, we should believe that everything that happens in our lives and the lives of others happens according to His plan, in accordance with the great goals of the education and development of souls in the universe. Therefore, one should not condemn anyone, especially God himself. We are primarily to blame for what happens to us. Our task is to realize our mistakes in order to move further on the path of constant progression.
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