Though in the wilderness we find the pathways rough and steep,
The wild and tangled places, and the valleys dark and deep,
Yet as we tread the pathways o'er with willing, patient feet,
We find them fringed with flowers of God and budding roses sweet.
We see the dry and thirsty ground there in the wilderness,
The desolate, deserted land, all dim with weariness;
Yet there we see the little streams of living water flow,
Reviving, healing, blessing all the land wherein they go.
And in the wilderness the flaming bush reveals our God,
And gleams of glory light the way our stumbling feet have trod;
We meet the darksome shadows, and the nights of doubt and gloom,
Till in the thorny wilderness the sweetest roses bloom.
