The valley of Baca, meaning “weeping,” is a place of sorrow and humiliation, but one of blessing also. To Paul it was the thorn in the flesh, something that made him despicable in his ministry to the Galatians. It was truly humbling, and called forth from him a thrice-repeated prayer. But when he heard the Lord say, “My grace is sufficient for thee,” he no longer pleaded for its removal. No, he rather gloried in his infirmity, that the power of Christ might be known. This was the place of blessing to Paul: he found it a well. The valley of Baca was turned into a spot of untold intimacy and nearness to God. With some of us, this valley may be the loss of that which is nearest to our hearts, or the thwarting of the will, or something that will humble us; but it is a place of blessing. We get far more refreshing from the painful than the pleasant things. The valley of Baca is made a well. Of which of your pleasant things can you say that you make it a well? The refreshment and the blessing come from that which has pained us, humbled us, emptied us of self! This is God’s way of showing us what He is; and so, in passing us through the valley of Baca, He makes it a well.

So we read in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks.” How is this to be done? Did Paul give thanks for the thorn, the very thing he supposed would hinder his usefulness? Not while looking at the thing itself; it was only when his eye was fixed on the heart and the hand that had done it. There are many things in themselves that we cannot give thanks for: the snapping of the cord nearest the heart, or the cutting to pieces of what our affections are set upon. We must see the love that has ordered it, and the hand that has appointed it; and then we can give thanks.