“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Isaiah 55: 6-7

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“The LORD works in mysterious ways.”

“The LORD works in mysterious ways.” Everybody has heard someone make that statement.

Actually, “the LORD” is a mistranslation. The Name Yahweh appears in the original texts of the Scriptures everywhere you see the phrase “the LORD” with all the letters in LORD capitalized. The Name Yahweh also appears in the original texts of the Scriptures everywhere you see the phrase “the Lord GOD” with all the letters in GOD capitalized and everywhere you see the phrase “LORD of hosts” with all the letters in LORD capitalized. Adonai Yahweh is the correct translation of “the Lord GOD,” and Yahweh Sabaoth is the correct translation of “LORD of hosts”.

I will not go into detail about those translation errors, but I will say three things about the problems those translation errors create:

Those are glaring mistranslations of the Scriptures that hide Yahweh’s Name from Bible readers. Thus, most people reading the Bible do not know where Yahweh’s Name belongs in the Scriptures, and they do not know what Yahweh says in the Bible about the importance of His Name.
In effect, those mistranslations annul Yahweh’s command to declare His Name to the world and reduce His Name to naught. Thus, they violate the 3rd of the Ten Commandments: “You shall not take the Name of Yahweh your Elohim in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7) “Shav” is the Hebrew word translated as “vain” in Exodus 20:7. It means empty, useless, false, and deceitful. Substituting “the LORD”, “the Lord GOD”, and “LORD of hosts” for Yahweh is empty, useless, false, and deceitful.
Those translation errors are repeated purposely by almost every Bible translator. Translators try to justify those mistranslations by referring to them as “time honored traditions.” There is nothing honorable about mistranslating Yahweh’s word on purpose for any reason or about referring to Yahweh as the LORD, the Lord GOD, or LORD of hosts if you know better. That is a problem most preachers do not seem to grasp.

If this problem intrigues you and you want to know more about it, read the following:

That said, Yahweh really does work in mysterious ways. He has told me repeatedly not to count and not to worry about time or timing.

Counting

All of us enjoy keeping track of things, and counting seems to be a perfect way to do it. Yahweh does not want us to count, because He wants us to understand that He alone is responsible for fulfilling His promises and for accomplishing His mission. He does not need you or me or anyone else, and He does not need big numbers for support to do anything. Yahweh alone is sufficient.

That was Yahweh’s message to Gideon in Judges 7 when He sent Gideon out to do battle with the Midianites. Gideon gathered a great army for the fight, but Yahweh said, “You have too many people for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’” (Judges 7:2)

Yahweh reduced the number of warriors under Gideon’s command to 300 men, and they defeated a much larger Midianite army. Gideon “divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ram’s horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.” (Judges 7:16)

Gideon’s army did not have any weapons, but they attacked a much larger Midianite force that was well-armed and well-trained. They defeated the Midianites with ram’s horns and jars containing torches. Yahweh works in mysterious ways. Gideon and the army with him got that message.

Time and Timing

Yahweh has told me repeatedly not to worry about time or timing. I like to think I understand the timing of things, but in truth, I do not. Read this SnyderTalk editorial and you will see what I mean: “Yahweh’s Precision Timing: He’s Never Late and He’s Never Early”.

When I focus my attention on time and timing, very quickly I become frustrated, because things do not seem to play out the way I think they should. Yahweh does things His way and in His timing. His ways are not my ways, and His timing is not my timing. For me to work with Yahweh, I must accept those facts, and follow Him. There is no other way to work with Yahweh. Any other way that seems right, or better, to me is wrong.

That is a hard lesson to learn, but it is a lesson that we must learn if we want to work with Yahweh. If we refuse to learn the lesson, Yahweh will sit us on the bench, and we can watch things from the sidelines.

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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”

John 10: 14-18