How do we know that jonathan has true faith in god?

God is invoked regularly throughout the story, mostly in the way others might refer to fate. Both in terms of positive and negative situations, Jonathan's religious sensibility is reflected by his refrain: “Nothing puzzles God”.

Jonathan repeatedly refers to positive outcomes - like the survival of his home and family - as “blessings” or “miracles”. Likewise, he believes that "Nothing puzzles God" in bad situations, like with the Coal Corporation's closing or with the climactic robbery. By imbuing God with the power to understand, Jonathan frees himself from agonizing about the seemingly random experiences of the Civil War and its aftermath. He may not understand, but God does. This allows him to use his energy constructively in the present instead of wallowing in the seemingly inscrutable past.