"...the race is not to the swift, not the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, not yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all" (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

I have to confess something about myself. I love to go fast, I mean really fast. I love to drive as fast as I can. I love a car with a big engine so that I can go fast. My children will often ask me if I am speeding and I will say, "Just a little". But there are those darn yield signs, speed bumps and dips that seem to get in the way of going fast. And those stop signs just completely put a stop to all the fun. Man, I really don't like those. But they keep me safe. (Sigh). And truthfully, I'd rather be safe than dead, or worse, end up hurting someone or killing someone else because I have a need for speed. So, I obey the signs, or rather the laws of the road.

This need for speed, or going fast has made me think of something lately. It's those darn speed bumps and dips, really, that have made me think about why speed is good and why I need to slow down. There are times when we need to just "be still" (Psalms 46:10) or slow down a bit. We can be "swift to hear, slow to speak, [and] slow to wrath" (James 1:19). I could really use some practice on hearing and slowing down on the speaking part. The speaking before I think gets me in trouble way too much. There are too many times when I think that things would have been better had I just kept my mouth shut. "Be still" (Psalms 46:10) is great advice. Look at the foot note on that and it says, "silence".

Being "slow to anger" (Proverbs 15:18) is another place where it is a blessing to slow down and take my time. Anger causes so many problems...but how to control it is such a challenge. One way to practice is suggested in Proverbs, "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger" (Proverbs 15:1). If we slow down and speak softly we have time to actually think about what is coming out of our mouths before we say it and we won't be driving out of control, rather, we will be "yielding to the Spirit" (see (Mosiah 3:19). Those yields really do help keep us safe, not only from harmful driving situations, but emotional and verbal situations as well.

Yielding is a powerful way to have influence upon our hearts. "Yielding [our] hearts unto God" brings the "purifying and the sanctification of [our] hearts" when we fast and pray and become more and more humble (Helaman 3:35).  It is more powerful than going fast and losing control. When we go too fast we can miss those turns that we need to make and could get lost. Yielding helps us to get our bearings, to find the direction we need to turn, or return to Christ. Repentance is returning to Christ. Repentance is an incredible blessing. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "The gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ provides us at all times and at all places with the blessings of repentance and forgiveness. Because of this gift, the opportunity to make a safe return from the disastrous course of sin is available to all of us" (Point of Safe Return). When we "yield to the enticings of the Holy Spirit" we are actually putting off the natural man and becoming a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord (Mosiah 3:19).

Now, if the yield signs don't get us to pay attention, then hopefully the stop signs will. The Lord has reasons why He stops things, why He wants us to STOP. He has said, "Stop, and stand still until I command thee, and I will provide means whereby thou mayest accomplish the thing which I have commanded thee" (D&C 5:34). Sometimes, we just need to stop, completely get out of the car and let the Lord do the driving. He knows where He is taking us and we need to have the faith that He will get us there if  we are "faithful in keeping [His] commandments" (D&C 5:35).

When we slow down and put our faith and trust in the Lord we realize "...that the race is not to the swift, not the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, not yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all" (Ecclesiastes 9:11). We must drive with the Lord by our side. We don't need to worry about speed or being the fastest. We can focus on Him and know~ "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37), being at the perfect speed for our needs. This I testify.