My child is not-so-subtly slipping into her rebellious years. More often than not, her response to me is, “Why!?” After a particularly combative day, I looked her in the eye and said,

“Because I said so!”

She looked at me for a moment and then turned around and did what I asked. The four words I vowed to never speak as a parent turned into a freedom I could never have imagined. I couldn’t stop from smiling.

A few days later, I heard my Father whisper a command over my heart. I was feeling quite combative and said, “Please, no, Lord. Why today?”

Because I said so.

Ouch. As I turned from my disobedience, I was quite positive He was smiling. I’m very good at rationalizing and procrastinating. I can be very rebellious and question Him with my desire for solid answers. But sometimes we aren’t supposed to know the answers. And sometimes the answers only come when we obey. Either way, those words spoken by God are a promise that He knows the answers, and that’s all that matters.

Because I said so. When we allow them, they are words that bring a freedom we could never have imagined.