So many people today misinterpret the power in obedience because they often correlated the act of obedience with weakness. If we surveyed this paradox more acutely what we’ll find is a battle between God’s will and our will. Yes, we have the freedom to make choices every single day. Sometimes we choose the difficult path (God’s will) and sometimes we opt for the easy way (our will). But either way, our will factors into how we live and why we do the things we do. God’s will is like a powerful, raging river, full of grace and mercy, strength and provision. God’s will for us is our best-case scenario. Our will, on the other hand, can be a disjointed, downhill path – easy to walk on, but may lead us away from God’s best path for us. That’s why obedience to God will always cultivate power that fuels our faith (Phil 2:12-13). Jesus chose to submit (obedience) His will to His Father in Heaven. He came to earth specifically to do the Father’s will (John 6:38). Likewise, we are here to do the Father’s will. God is not looking for perfection. He knows we’re not going to get it right all of the time and yet still, He loves us deeply. What He really, truly wants from us is our trust. I Samuel 15:22 says, “Obedience is better than sacrifice” and I’ll add that obedience is greater than our stubbornness, selfishness, entitlement, pride, excuses, and need for explanations. Jesus reminded us in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to My voice: I know them and they follow Me.”