For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD..

For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths. Proverbs 5:21 NIV

Much to my wife's dismay, I love maps. It doesn't really matter what kind--city maps, terrain maps, Bible maps or world globes. I love tracing the lines of countries as they have changed over the centuries as much as I love finding the shortest distance between where I am and where I want to be.

As I was reading this verse this morning, God gave me a little different perspective on it. In the past, I had always taken it to mean "God's watching you and He knows what you are doing." While I still know that to be true, I think there is another completely different aspect to it.

God holds the map.

You see, in this life there are places we want to be and places we wind up on accident. We make wise decisions that get us closer to our destination. We also make wildly wrong turns that take us on the "scenic route" to nowhere. One of the wisest things we do on this journey is to constantly check in with the one who holds the map. Through His word and through our prayers, God guides us and directs us. He tells us where the best routes lay and, probably more important for most of us, He knows exactly how to get us back on track when we've made a poor turn.

Several years ago, my family was leaving Nashville to visit family in Atlanta. It was a route that I had taken dozens of times and I knew it well. Just before we got to Chattanooga, traffic came to a stop. The word we got from the radio was that it was a combination of DOT work and a pretty major accident. I hate sitting still. So we pulled onto the shoulder, made our way to the off ramp and began a journey on a route we had never taken before. My wife looked at me with more than just a little doubt and said, "Are you sure you want to do this?" I was able to answer her positively with this reply, "We'll be okay. I've got the map." There should be great confidence for those who walk this journey when they know Who holds the map. He watches over our paths and is more than willing to guide us till we are safely home.