God Knows

Dear Friends in Christ,

I came across a newspaper re-print that struck me as very relevant, particularly in light of Sunday’s Gospel reading and our current situation. It is a poem written by Minnie Louise Haskins in 1908, made famous when King George used it in a 1939 Christmas Day address to war-torn Britain, to calm her fears and orient her trust in the one true King.

The lines below are also an echo of the parable of the sheep we heard on Sunday. The poem was originally entitled “The Gate of the Year,” perhaps alluding to the gentle and comforting gate-keeper we have in our shepherd, Jesus. It speaks to us of trust and the peace we find when we, listening to His voice, place our hand in His and venture into the darkness unafraid.

There is much about this poem on the internet, and on how the English monarchy has treasured it and used it over the years (It’s inscribed on their tomb and was read in full at the Queen Mother’s funeral in 2002.) For now, let it speak to us in troubled times of God’s reigning mercy and provision.

God Knows
 
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied:
 
“Go out into the darkness and 
put your hand into the Hand of God. 
That shall be to you better than light 
and safer than a known way.”
So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, 
trod gladly into the night.
And He led me towards the hills 
and the breaking of day in the lone East.

So heart be still:
What need our little life
Our human life to know,
If God hath comprehension?
In all the dizzy strife
Of things both high and low,
God hideth His intention.
God knows. His will is best.
 
The stretch of years
Which wind ahead, so dim
To our imperfect vision,
Are clear to God. Our fears
Are premature; In Him,
All time hath full provision.
 
Then rest: until
God moves to lift the veil
From our impatient eyes,
When, as the sweeter features
Of Life’s stern face we hail,
Fair beyond all surmise
God’s thought around His creatures
Our mind shall fill.