I don't know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future.

The line contrasts human uncertainty with religious assurance. It acknowledges that the future is opaque—events, outcomes, and personal fortunes cannot be predicted—yet asserts confidence in divine sovereignty (“who holds the future”). Attributed to Ralph Abernathy, a Baptist minister and key Civil Rights Movement leader, the sentiment fits the theological register that often undergirded movement rhetoric: courage and perseverance are grounded not in control of circumstances but in trust in God’s providence. As a quotation, it functions as pastoral encouragement, redirecting anxiety about what is coming toward faith in a guiding moral and spiritual order.