Lord, I have seen the barren rock
break open with a living spring,
and raised a cry of joy and shock
to see the desert turning green.
Then why, why do I turn aside
when barren ground surrounds my road?
When deserts stretch out, yawning wide,
why do I fear and lose my hope?
I know too well not every stone
bears in its heart the springs of joy.
Beside those rocks I stand alone,
and all my pleading is but noise.
But still, the road before my feet
turns neither to the left nor right.
What comfort can I hope to meet
beneath this sky's relentless light?
Be for me, saving Christ, the rock
that rises in a weary land.
Give me a shadow, cool and dark,
to shelter in from sunlit sand.
And there, if I have found you, Lord,
if I have followed you at all,
the river of your mercy pour,
the rain of comfort on me fall!
Kate Bluett 