God works in mysterious ways

Etymology
Perhaps literally from a poem by (who lived 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 common belief, not from dismissive folk illiteracy, but captures some essence of theology and Scripture.

Proverb

 * 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...
 * 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 religious views of the speaker. Moreover, it is occasionally used sarcastically.

Translations

 * Arabic: لله في خلقه شؤون
 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin: 神用奧秘行動前來
 * Danish: Herrens veje er uransagelige
 * Dutch: Gods wegen zijn ondoorgrondelijk
 * Finnish: tutkimattomat ovat Herran tiet
 * French:, les voies du Seigneur sont impénétrables
 * German: die Wege des Herrn sind unergründlich; Gottes Wege sind unergründlich
 * Greek: άγνωστοι αι βουλαί του Κυρίου
 * Hindi: ईश्वर रहस्यमयी तरीकों से काम करता है
 * Hungarian: Isten útjai kifürkészhetetlenek
 * Icelandic: vegir drottinns eru órannskakanlegir
 * Indonesian: Tuhan bekerja dengan cara misterius
 * Italian: Le vie del Signore sono imperscrutabili
 * Japanese: 神は独特で奇妙なやり方をする
 * Korean:
 * Norwegian:
 * Bokmål: Herrens veier er uransakelige
 * Polish: niezbadane są wyroki Boskie
 * Russian: пути́ госпо́дни неисповеди́мы
 * Serbo-Croatian: čudni su putevi Božji
 * Spanish: los caminos del Señor son inescrutables
 * Swedish: Guds vägar äro outgrundliga, outgrundliga äro Herrens vägar
 * Turkish: Mevla'nın işine akıl sır ermez