God does work in mysterious ways, and many people believe that the phrase is from the Bible. But it is not. Rather, it’s a paraphrase from the poem Light Shining Out of Darkness by William Cowper. In 1773 he wrote, “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.”
I recently watched a nine-minute clip of former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow telling an intriguing “God works in mysterious ways” true story. I’ll paraphrase it here and include the link below.
While playing college football for the University of Florida, Tebow noticed that other players were wearing personal messages on their eye blacks. Those are the black grease or strip that players wear under their eyes to reduce glare from sunlight; also, it makes them look like fierce warriors. Deciding he wanted to play along, he grabbed a silver Sharpie and wrote Phil. on one and 4:13 on the other to reflect the Bible verse from Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
They won that game.
Moving on to the championship game, Tebow says he felt called by God to change the eye black message. He ended up with John on one eye black and 3:16 on the other, referencing what is likely the most well-known Bible verse. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (NIV)
His team won that national championship on January 8, 2009.
And 94 million people Googled “John 3:16.”
Yes, 94 million.
And now pay attention to these numbers:
Exactly 3 years later to the day, January 8, 2012, Tebow was quarterback of the Denver Broncos when they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tebow passed for 316 yards.
The yards per rush stat was 3.16.
The yards per completion were 31.6.
Time of possession* was 31.06.
And at the moment Tebow threw the game-winning touchdown pass to the receiver Demaryius Thomas, CBS, who carried the game, showed their final quarter-hour overnight ratings to be (wait for it) 31.6.
So yes, I do believe that God works in mysterious ways.
And I also believe God has a sense of humor. Because that *time of possession was how long Pittsburgh, not Denver, maintained control of the ball.
I’m just saying.
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Norma:
God’s ways may be mysterious to us, but certainly not to Him!!! Just saying!!! Yes, God certainly does have a sense of humor, after all, He created us!!! AND, He allows a group of monkeys to be designated a “congress”!!!!
Uncle Bill
Love Uncle Bill’s comments. God’s ways can be mysterious but human’s even more so in some ways. Thank God for his mysterious ways.
I probably watched that Pittsburgh game, but never heard of those stats! Amazing (grace?)! Thanks for sharing!