When someone says" well it was ment to be" or it was gods will. What is your reply?
My wife is an unbeliever but uses the phrase "it wasn't meant to be" to rationalize disappointment. She doesn't mean that literally. It's just a way of letting go of expectations.
Assuming someone literally thinks there's an interventionist god and their saying such things seriously reflects that belief -- well, I'd just smile and leave them to their beliefs. Eventually their "rationalizer" will wear out and they'll get tired of twisting themselves into a pretzel in an effort to reconcile lived experience with the things their religious faith claims to explain or predict. Some go to their grave believing that their experiences prove god blesses the righteous and confounds the wicked, or provides demonstrable protection or guidance or support to his followers. Some don't. I can't figure it out on anyone else's behalf, that's on them.
So God's will is preoccupied with my first world problems but not for those who truly need it?
Depends on my mood, in a bad mood i probably say , ok whatever you say or something like that
It’s usually a little smirk and a subtle( or sometimes not so) eye roll.
“Perhaps you’re right. Things that happen, if viewed from a higher perspective, are things that had to happen and are neither good nor bad”.
Depends on the situation. If the circumstances are right, I'll ask, "Do you really think so?" Then I let them talk. Sometimes it turns into a discussion. Other times I just listen and when they are done respond with, "I can understand that point of view."
About the same as when someone taking their leave of me says "god be with you" - which probably gets rolled into "goodbye"
It's even more theist is French (adieu) or Spanish (adios).
It's just a figure of speech for most people.