FINDING ANSWERS
It’s New Year’s Eve, a time to be very hopeful of the coming year. But for those who are so worried of the unknown, who sense danger in the darkness ahead, the following would bring solace.
“And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: ‘Give me 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 toward the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East.”
The foregoing words are from the 1908 poem, “The Gate of the Year,” written by Minnie Louise Haskins. She was quoted by King George VI in a Royal Christmas Message in 1939 when Britain and France had declared war on Germany three months earlier in a prelude to World War II.
Haskins’ poem, originally titled “God Knows,” certainly resonates with timeless wisdom. Its profound simplicity—while offering poignant insights on faith, uncertainty, and the human journey through darkness—asks us to confront our fears and trust in Divine Guidance to navigate the unknown.
To place one’s hand into the Hand of God is to embrace faith—a faith not necessarily tied to religion, but one rooted in the belief that life holds purpose, even though the path ahead might seem obscured by darkness. It is to believe that amid life’s uncertainties, there is a Supreme Being that sees beyond the horizon we cannot yet fathom.
The poem’s message can help those who fear what lies ahead. A Manila Bulletin news article on the latest Social Weather Stations survey showed that although 90 percent of adult Filipinos will greet the New Year with “hope rather than fear,” the figure “represented the lowest level of New Year hopefulness recorded in 15 years.”
The nationwide SWS survey, conducted Dec. 12 to 18 and released on Dec. 27, “found that 10 percent will enter the New Year with fear, a seven-point increase from the three percent in 2023, making it the highest level since 11 percent in 2009.”
As the clock strikes midnight tonight, we reach a unique crossroad: the past year fades into memory, while the new year stretches before us in an uncharted expanse. It’s a time of both celebration and reflection, hope and uncertainty. For many, the turning of the year feels like standing on the edge of a vast sea, where the waves whisper both promises and fears.
While every new year almost always brings new hope to an overwhelming majority of the population, there are also those among us who feel hopeful and fearful at the same time. It is to them that Haskins’ poem can resonate deeply.
The poem’s opening line, “Give me light that I may tread safely into the unknown,” captures a universal human yearning for certainty and illumination when faced with inevitable uncertainties. But the response from the man at the gate is profound: having internal faith is better than getting external clarity.
Such a response challenges conventional notions of safety and being in control. By rejecting the need for “light” or a “known way,” the poem reframes security not as the absence of danger or uncertainty but as the presence of God and Divine Guidance. It speaks to the essence of faith—not a passive resignation, but an active, courageous step into the unknown and uncharted.
Thus, whether confronting personal dilemmas, societal upheavals, or global crises, trusting in God to lead the way is infinitely better than giving way to the human instinct of seeking clear answers or tangible assurances.
A lot of uncertainties lie in the year ahead. On the local front, no one can be sure where the continuing animosity of the Dutertes against the Marcos administration will lead to. On the international front, many nations are concerned about the return to power of US President-elect Donald Trump, the effects of his announced tariff policies on global inflation, and the consequences of mass deportations.
The unknown and uncertainties ahead can be intimidating to many of us. We cannot predict the future, nor can we control all that will unfold. Yet, this lack of control is precisely what makes faith so essential. To place our hand into the “Hand of God” is to face the unknown with courage, hope, and happiness. Happy New Year to all! ([email protected])