Faith
The poem's central theme is faith. From the first line, the speaker makes it clear that the poem will deal with what it means to have faith and the impact it has on her life. For the speaker, faith provides her with a sense of strength and security, as she feels connected with the world around her and the power of a higher being. She overtly makes reference to the all-powerful nature of her God, describing its connection to existence beyond the order of planets and time. The speaker is able to surrender herself to her faith because she feels so certain of this power and meaning inherent to her belief and religion. In this way, for her, it is an almost obvious choice.
Doubt
The poem also explores the theme of doubt, in conversation with its idea of faith. The speaker harshly criticizes men whose beliefs shake their faith in God. In contrast to the "steadfast" quality of her faith, she describes individuals who are affected by "creeds" that she deems valueless. She takes particular issue with their doubt because it goes directly against her conception of God's connection to the eternal. She finds their choices foolish in that they reject a clear connection to the most important thing she can imagine. With this view, she takes their doubt to be a sign of weakness.
Eternity
The poem also contends with the theme of eternity. The speaker repeatedly describes the way she finds strength in her belief. When she does this, she often highlights the way it links her to a divine force that lives in eternity, beyond any earthly conception of time and space. In the last stanza of the poem, the speaker describes God as an all-powerful force, existing outside of complete human comprehension but acting as the sole animating force at every level of creation. These descriptions are important in that they underscore what exactly the speaker sees herself as being attached to. She draws her own courage from faith because she views it as belief in such an elevated force.
