Originally posted 2016-07-25 23:56:44.
Hi!
Have you ever sat at a table in a restaurant peering at the menu, trying to decide what to order? Are there so many options until you have difficulty choosing? After all, you like many of the dishes. What do you do? How much indecisiveness comes before you make a choice? Usually when it’s a restaurant that you frequent often, you know your favorite dish. But when it’s some place new, there are a lot of fascinating possibilities. Is this why choosing what you would like to eat is so hard?
Why is it so difficult to make a decision?
Let’s take a moment to look closer at the word “Decide.” Its Latin root word is CISE; which means CUT. The suffix CIDE; which means to kill, was also developed from the Latin word meaning cut. These two Latin roots are behind the meanings of, to make an incision: to cut in; and to make a decision: to cut off.
Merriam-Webster defines “Decide” as, “To make a final choice or judgment about. To select as a course of action.” So, when you make a final decision; whether you realize it or not, your choice has cut off other opportunities. 
At least they are; during the time of your decision. Think about it. If you decided to go to college as a youth; you cut off the opportunity to hang out, or climb a corporate ladder from the ground up. If you decided to go away to school, you cut off daily interactions with friends who stayed home. But if you decided to stay home and went to a local college, you cut off the opportunity to experience living in a dorm for four years. Basically, there are pros and cons to opportunities cut off by decisions.
Perhaps you made a decision not to marry when you were a teenager. Fear of reliving your parent’s dysfunctional life dictated your decision to turn down multiple marriage proposals. Do you see how this choice cut off the opportunity to experience married life at an early age? Maybe you decided to marry your childhood sweetheart the week after your high school graduation. There’s nothing wrong with this decision. But to elaborate on the point, can you see how this cuts off the chance to live the single life as a young adult? My friends, sometimes it’s fear or the thought of a missed opportunity that feeds difficulty in decision-making.
What opportunities cross your path? Perhaps…..
- You’ve worked at a thriving company for years. The pay is good and you have excellent benefits. You have a job offer at a newly formed company in the field that your degree is in. The pay is substantially larger than what you make, and you see this as a career move. How easy or difficult is your decision to accept the offer? What are you cutting off by taking the new job? What are you cutting off by not accepting?
- You have a four-year scholarship to one of the universities that you and your friends agreed to go to. Your friends changed their minds and decided to go to a different university. Their parents are paying their tuition. Your quandary is that you would have to apply for student loans to go to the other university with your friends. How easy or difficult would your decision be to choose whether you should change universities or not? What opportunity would you cut off if you decided to go with your friends? What opportunity would you cut off if you decided to go the university that’s offering the scholarship?
- You’re in midlife. You’ve been self-employed for twenty plus years. You’re now ready to work for a company that has an opening where you’re qualified. There’s one obstacle. The company requires a high school diploma or GED. You dropped out of high school in the tenth grade. You tried studying the GED book on your own to no avail. There’s a GED preparation course at the local community center that offers tutoring. Your only trepidation is your age difference from the other students. How easy or difficult is your decision to enroll in the program? What opportunities are you cutting off by sitting in that class and learning with students younger than your children? What opportunities are you cutting off by foregoing taking the GED program? What opportunities are you cutting off by not finding a job at a company?
- Your siblings or family members have moved to multiple areas of the country. Some moved to the west coast. Some went to the east coast, and others went down south. You’ve wanted to relocate for a while. You’ve researched job opportunities in the different cities. You won’t have any difficulty finding employment in your field. The housing markets are great in each of the areas.
Weather is not a factor in making your decision. You like all the areas. Different family members have called and offered you a place to stay while you look for a job and house. What’s your decision? How easy or difficult is your decision? What opportunities are you cutting off if you decide on either of the cities? What opportunities are you cutting off if you decide to stay where you live now?
If only…..
Have you ever heard someone say, “If I had known, I would’ve done things differently?” Well, when God places opportunity before you to decide on; pray, and pray again. But, whatever you do, make the decision to decide.
I remember saying to one of my cousins years ago, “If I’d known that living for the Lord would bring such peace and joy into my life, I would’ve surrendered a long time ago.” One thing I’m extremely ecstatic about is that I decided to serve the Lord. Even though He chose me. I chose to obey. Jesus said in John 15:16 {a}, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you….” Scripture says in Joshua 24:15{a} says, “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve;….” In other words, “Make the decision!”
My friends, thank you for joining me today. I truly believe that, as long as we have breath, the need to make decisions will come. I’ll leave you with these questions. “What is the un-lived life God has for you, that requires you to make a decision? Do you decide easily or with difficulty?” …I’d love to hear from you. We’ll talk soon.
Blessings!
Rochelle
