From Jeffrey R. Holland and his book “For Times of Trouble”.
I thought on my way and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.
I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.
In the parable of the prodigal son, perhaps the most telling phrase is that after he had made his mistakes, gone his way and squandered his fortune, the young man ‘came to himself.’ 179 Everyone of us needs to “come to ourselves.” We need to think on our ways” and correct these ways in the process. Like the prodigal son we need to “[turn our] feet unto [our] testimonies.” We need to make haste to come back to our family, to come back to our future, to come back to our faith.
In a similar vein, Lehi’s plea to his wayward sons may well apply to all of us: “Awake, my sons and put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.”180 We need to wake up to the consequences of our our actions and recognize where we may be going wrong.
It is interesting that one of Satan’s ploys is to keep us from “thinking on our ways.” He wants to keep us busy with games or hobbies or preoccupations or worries or economics. There are plenty of things to occupy our minds and divert our thoughts, but some portion of our day (and indeed this may lead to the salvation of our whole life) ought to be devoted to “thinking on our ways.”
Then, with haste and conviction, we should turn our feet toward God. He is loving. He is waiting for us. His arms are extended, but he will not force us or turn our feet. We must do that. Chances are we will never feel inclined to do so unless we think upon our ways in some period of self-assessment. Don’t delay. Make haste. ~Jeffrey R. Holland, For Times of Trouble (Salt Lake City, Deseret Book, 2012), p.129-30
(Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.)
