English

Proverb

God works in mysterious ways

1. Expressing confidence that a conundrum has a solution despite it not being apparent.
2. Commenting that a seemingly unfortunate or unfavourable situation or change may be beneficial later or in the long run.

   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 does not necessarily denote the religion (or lack thereof) of the speaker.
• In various parts of the world, it is sometimes, or mostly, used sarcastically.

Synonyms

• (a situation may be beneficial later): every cloud has a silver lining, blessing in disguise

Translations