My guide

For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death. – Psalm 48.14

I love history and I love the history of exploration. I have read a couple of books about the American explorers Lewis and Clark who were commissioned by American President Thomas Jefferson to explore and map the Louisiana Purchase and to record their findings. They were also to try and open up trade with the indigenous tribal nations they encountered.

Their 2 ½ year expedition in the early 19^th century stretched from St Louis, Missouri to where the Columbus River empties into the Pacific Ocean. The travelled just over 11,000 km (7,000 miles) and their mission was considered a great success.

But the mission would have been impossible apart from the help from several Native American guides, the best known of which is a woman named Sacagawea who was a member of the Lemhi Shoshone nation. Without her skills and knowledge to guide them it is doubtful at best if they would have survived their mission.

Sacagawea was an amazing guide. She knew where to go and she knew how to deal with the unknown and led the team through seemingly impossible situations. She is a true American hero.

But as great as she was, Sacagawea pales in comparison as a guide with the greatest Guide of all.

Our future is a much more fearsome thing than the blank spots on Lewis and Clark’s maps. At least they had some idea from hearing trapper’s tales and from the native people’s they talked to. The kind of knew what we expect.

But we know nothing. We don’t even know what tomorrow is going to bring.

And THAT can truly be scary.

But we have this promise – God will be our guide even unto death. Our Guide is the perfect God because He is already in tomorrow. Nothing is going to catch him off guard because it is all in His hands. In other places we read that not only is He our Guide, but that He is going to take us by the hand to lead us – if we let Him.

He leads me beside the still waters. Yeah though I walk through the valley of death for my Guide’s rod and staff comfort me. I will fear no evil – because my Guide knows the way through the wilderness and all I have to do is follow.