Recently the United States has been commemorating the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition (May 1804 to September 1806). In this journey of exploration, commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark along with others set out to examine the western part of North America including parts of the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1803 the fledgling United States —a country for less than 30 years—had just purchased the massive area covered by the Louisiana Purchase. Although the Native Americans who lived in this territory were quite familiar with it, the U.S. government—headquartered on the Atlantic Coast —was not. In order to gather more information about the area, Lewis and Clark (and associates) set out on their expedition of discovery, which took over two years.

In planning their trip, which was undertaken well before accurate maps of the area were available, they sought the expertise of knowledgeable people, which is a sound biblical principle (Proverbs 11:14; 24:6; 15:22).

Lewis and Clark both had previous "wilderness" experience under their belts. Clark had mapmaking skills. Lewis, during the summer of 1803, studied plant and animal classifying. In 1804, they hired Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshone wife, Sacagawea, who could act as interpreters and guides.

A parallel to Lewis and Clark's expedition is the Christian's journey with God. When we first "discovered" the truth, it was a vast unknown territory of awesome heights and lush, green valleys that beckoned to us constantly. Our Bible study time was never enough. Hours sped by and there was still so much more to learn.

As the years flew by, more of the big picture became clear and many fascinating details came to light as more and more of the genius of the mind of God came to light. I suspect that God designed His Word to benefit every age—child, teen, adult and elderly—providing a lifelong learning experience.

For instance, when I was in my teens and 20s, I clearly remember the verse about the glory of young men being their strength. Now I am rediscovering that that was only half of the verse. The rest of Proverbs 20:29 dealt with the elderly. Lately I've been amazed at the hundreds of scriptures that deal with growing old, guidance and encouragement for the aged and the infirm and exhortation to endure to the end.

Just as Sacagawea guided the Lewis and Clark expedition, it has begun to sink in to my mind that we all need a guide to help us navigate our "uncharted" areas of Scripture. Does God give us a guide? Yes, when we ask Him for it, thankfully He does—the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).

I think it's interesting to note that Lewis and Clark documented their expedition well with journals, illustrations, maps, etc. As I am getting older, I am finding it helpful to write down the topics and scriptures of my Bible studies. Recently, I was about to start on an intriguing "new" topic of study. Only it was one that I'd already done a few years ago! It was disappointing to find out that that "canyon" had already been checked out, but the review of that knowledge in my "journal" naturally led into exploring other related topics, which were, likewise, "gold mines" of more information.

The Lewis and Clark expedition broke new ground by discovering a wealth of information about the western parts of North America. They employed the best guides they could find. In our journeys of discovery of Scripture, likewise, it is best to have a knowledgeable guide. Who knows the Holy Bible better than God?