This is a heavy statement, especially coming from a man who spent his life fighting for a cause. It sounds almost passive, doesn't it? As if he is saying we should just sit back and let things happen. But if you look closer at Lincoln's life, you know he was anything but passive. He was a fighter, a strategist, and a man of immense action. So, what did he mean by this? It speaks to a deep, philosophical acceptance of forces beyond our control. It's about recognizing the line between what we can change and what we cannot. This idea has been wrestled with by theologians, philosophers, and everyday people for centuries. Lincoln, in his simple, eloquent way, gives us a framework for understanding our place in a vast and often unpredictable universe. He suggests that while we must act, we must also ultimately make peace with the outcome.
This article unpacks this powerful idea. We will look at what it means in today's world, why it matters for your peace of mind, and how you can balance the drive to shape your future with the wisdom to accept what comes.
What This Quote Means Today
In our modern, hyper-controlled world, we are obsessed with planning. We have apps to schedule our days, algorithms to predict our preferences, and self-help books promising we can achieve anything we set our minds to. The idea that some things are simply decreed, or fated to happen, can feel uncomfortable. It clashes with our belief in self-determination. But Lincoln's quote isn't about giving up. It's about finding a baseline of peace. What is to be, will be is an acknowledgment that despite all our planning and praying, the universe has its own plans.
Think about it. You can study for weeks for a test and still get a question on the one thing you didn't review. You can love someone with all your heart and still lose them. You can build a business carefully and have a global pandemic upend it all. Lincoln understood this intimately. He had planned for a peaceful presidency, but was instead handed a war. He had prayed for the safety of his sons, yet two of them died young. This quote is his way of making peace with that harsh reality. It is not a dismissal of effort; it is an acceptance of outcome. It means doing your best and then letting go, trusting that whatever happens next is, in some way, meant to be.
Why It Matters Today
This matters today because anxiety is rampant. A lot of our anxiety comes from trying to control things we simply cannot control. We replay conversations in our heads, we worry about the future, we catastrophize about things that may never happen. Lincoln's words offer a cure for that. If what is to be, will be, then all that worry is for nothing. It is a profound invitation to live in the present moment.
It also helps build resilience. When things go wrong, and they will, this mindset gives you a way to process it without being destroyed by it. Instead of asking Why me? which is a question with no answer, you can start to ask, What now? You can accept the new reality and begin to move forward from there. This is a cornerstone of many modern therapeutic practices, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The goal is not to eliminate pain, but to learn to live a rich and meaningful life alongside it, accepting what is outside your personal control. It offers a sense of calm in a chaotic world.
About the Author
Abraham Lincoln is often described as a man of deep, though unconventional, faith. He was not a joiner of churches in the traditional sense, and his religious beliefs evolved throughout his life, especially under the crushing weight of the Civil War and his personal losses. He grew up in a hard-shell Baptist family that believed in a God who predestined events. This early exposure to the idea of fate or divine decree likely stayed with him. As he aged, his language became more and more infused with references to a higher power.
In his Second Inaugural Address, perhaps the most spiritually profound inaugural in American history, he spoke of both the North and the South reading the same Bible and praying to the same God, and that the terrible war might well be the divine punishment due to both sides for the sin of slavery. He saw events unfolding according to some vast, divine plan that humans could not fully comprehend. He was a man of action, but he was also a man who felt deeply that he was an instrument of a will larger than his own. This quote perfectly captures that duality: the humble acceptance of a man who knows he is not the ultimate author of the story.
The Story Behind the Quote
This quote reflects a sentiment Lincoln expressed in various forms throughout his life, particularly as the war ground on. While the exact origin of this phrasing is difficult to pin down to one specific day, it embodies the philosophy he developed in the White House. He was constantly bombarded with advice, demands, and predictions from generals, politicians, and the public. Everyone had a plan to win the war quickly. But Lincoln learned that events had their own momentum.
He once famously said, I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me. This is a stunning admission from a president. He felt the tide of history, or divine will, pushing him in directions he had not anticipated. The Emancipation Proclamation, for instance, was not something he campaigned on. It was a step he felt compelled to take by the logic of the war and his own evolving sense of moral necessity. It was, in his view, what was to be. This didn't mean he stopped working. It meant he worked diligently while understanding that the final result was in hands other than his own.
Why This Quote Stands Out
This quote stands out because it tackles one of the oldest and most difficult questions of human existence: the problem of free will versus determinism. How can we be responsible for our actions if everything is already decided? Lincoln doesn't answer the philosophical puzzle, but he offers a way to live with it. He separates our role from the ultimate outcome. Our job is to live, to act, to pray. But we must not think that our actions alone, or our prayers alone, can arrest the decree of a larger plan.
It also stands out for its stark honesty. It offers no easy comfort. It doesn't promise that if you pray hard enough, things will go your way. It simply states a fact as Lincoln saw it. There is a decree. Things will happen. And our protests cannot stop them. This can feel cold, but for many, it is also freeing. It removes the burden of being the sole master of your fate, a burden that is ultimately too heavy for any human to bear. It allows you to participate in life fully without being crushed by its unpredictability.
How You Can Benefit from This Quote
How can you use this seemingly fatalistic idea to improve your life? It is about shifting your focus from outcomes to efforts.
- Do Your Part, Then Let Go: Work hard for that promotion. Study for that exam. Put your heart into that relationship. Do everything you reasonably can. But when the results come, accept them. If you succeeded, great. If you failed, know that you did your part and that the outcome was not entirely in your hands.
- Practice Mindful Acceptance: When you feel yourself spiraling with worry about something you can't control, pause. Say to yourself, What is to be, will be. Use it as a mantra to bring yourself back to the present moment. It can help break the cycle of anxious thoughts.
- Reframe Your Setbacks: When something bad happens, instead of seeing it as a personal failure, see it as part of the decree. This isn't about avoiding responsibility for your mistakes. It's about not adding unnecessary self-flagellation on top of the natural pain of the event. It opens up space to look for the new path forward.
- Find Comfort in Humility: Recognize that you are part of a story much bigger than yourself. This can be incredibly comforting. Your problems, while real and painful, exist within a vast universe. This perspective can shrink your worries down to a more manageable size.
Real-Life Examples
The concept of accepting fate while striving for goals is a common thread among many resilient people. Consider the story of Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor. In his book, Man's Search for Meaning, he describes how those who survived the concentration camps were often not the physically strongest, but those who found meaning in their suffering and accepted their reality while still choosing their attitude toward it. He couldn't control being in the camps, that was the decree but he could control his inner response to it. He found that no matter what was taken from him, the one freedom the Nazis could not take was his ability to choose his own response to his circumstances.
Another example is the public response to illness. Consider someone diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness. The diagnosis is the decree. It is what is. But the response to it can vary. Some individuals, after the initial shock, decide to live their remaining time with purpose and joy. They accept the what will be but focus on making the present as meaningful as possible. They don't let the decree rob them of the time they have left. Their prayers may not arrest the course of the disease, but they shape the quality of the life that remains.
Questions People Ask
Does this quote mean I shouldn't try hard to change things?
Not at all. Lincoln tried harder than almost anyone in history. He fought tirelessly to preserve the Union. The quote is about the outcome, not the effort. Try with all your might, but then accept that the final result is not entirely up to you.
Where is the line between acceptance and giving up?
The line is drawn by your values. Acceptance is about making peace with things you cannot change. Giving up is about refusing to change the things you can. The wisdom is in knowing the difference, a concept often attributed to the Serenity Prayer. Use your energy to change what you can, and your faith to accept what you cannot.
If everything is fated, is there any point in praying?
For Lincoln, and for many, prayer was not about trying to change God's mind. It was about aligning your own spirit with God's will. It was a way to seek guidance, comfort, and strength to face whatever was decreed. It is a conversation that changes the person praying, not necessarily the external events.
What to Take Away
Life is a mix of effort and grace, of striving and acceptance. You are called to be an active participant in your own life, to work hard, to love deeply, and to fight for what you believe in. But you are also called to recognize that you are not in total control. There is a decree, a flow to the universe that you cannot arrest. Finding the balance between these two truths is the key to a peaceful and resilient life. So, go ahead, give it your all. And then, breathe. Trust that whatever happens next, you will have the strength to face it. What is to be, will be. And you will be okay.
References
- Lincoln, A. (1865). Second Inaugural Address.
- Frankl, V. E. (1946). Man's Search for Meaning. Beacon Press.
- Goodwin, D. K. (2005). Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. Simon & Schuster.
- Burlingame, M. (2008). Abraham Lincoln: A Life. Johns Hopkins University Press.