Thankful for the Hard Places

We thank Thee, Lord, for pilgrim days,
Across the desert sand,

For there we learned to know and praise
Our Father's guiding hand.

We thank Thee, Lord, for loneliness,
Beneath the desert sky;

For there we learned Thy ways to trace;
As silent stars swept by.

We thank Thee, Lord, for midnight fear,
For wilderness alarm;

For there we learned that Thou art near,
When aught Thy saints would harm.

We thank Thee, Lord, for lack of bread,
For pillows made of stone;
For then we were by manna fed,
And slept beneath Thy throne.

We thank Thee, Lord, for parching thirst,
When desert wells were dry;
For there we saw the fountain, Christ,
That gave us full supply.

--D. W. Whittle in Jonathan: And Other Poems