I was so excited when my buddy, Titus Fay, just posted that he bought this t-shirt shown above. This was the topic of my first sermon I ever preached at Grace Bible Church.
This post is about your OODA Loop. It is every person's decision making process as observed by Air Force Colonel John Boyd.
Observe - make an observation about your situation
Orient - orient yourself to what it means to you
Decide - decide what you are going to do
Act - make your move!
In warfare, if you can interrupt someone's OODA Loop, you can take an action before theirs, giving you a slight upper hand. If you are a master at this, you can paralyze someone to keep them from taking action until you have the upper hand completely. (For instance, changing speeds up and down on a bike is a way to prevent a dog from intercepting you. You are messing with their OODA Loop. If you are in an active shooter situation, are unarmed, you can't run, and they've found your hiding spot, throwing things and screaming weird phrases are a great way to interrupt their OODA Loop as you ACT.)
This strategy is one Satan uses to keep us from taking obedient action in life. If he can keep us always orienting to HIS latest action, we can never make a decision. Or if he can keep us focused on trying to make a decision, we will never act. The only way to overcome this crippling system is to make sure you are orienting yourself to truth. And, then even when it seems like it is too late, decide what to do and act anyway.
It is also a strategy as used by the news cycle and some politicians. By the time you have oriented yourself to the latest news or decision and decided how to act toward it, they have already acted again, causing you to stop and observe, orient, and decide all over again. Most Americans are stuck on the sideline in this viscous cycle. The only way to overcome this crippling system is to make sure you are orienting yourself to truth. And, then even when it seems like it is too late, decide what to do and act anyway. If you lost the battle, you've at least built memory to get through the process quicker the next time.
What do you need to act on that you had decided, but were disoriented by something else before you took action?