Do you know why Joshua and his house chose the Lord that day? Because the Lord chose him 40 years earlier.
We are not denying choice. We embrace choice, because we remember what that choice was and what God wrought in our stead, despite that choice!!!
God took us to obedience school instead of waiting around to find out what our choice was. Sleeping and eating was never going to turn into "Oh boy! I just want to obey you all the time now" without God changing us to just that.
Lynn, not a bait, trap or anything, just an honest observation about you and others theology.
God desires a honest 2-way loving/sharing relationship with him. We see this illustrated all over the Bible as a marriage.
What you and others describe is what I see in arranged marriages in other cultures. 2 people forced to form a union, because 1 sovereign authority willed it to be so and elected you to be part of it. This is despite anything you may or may not think of the arrangement or the person involved. This is despite what you really want, you are part of an arrangement , predicated upon rules, regulations, traditions and so on.
Now there is somewhat a semblance of a loving relationship, children are born[fruit], dedication and perseverance are shown by those in the relationship, traditions are obeyed, including no disrespect, disobedient to the one in charge of the relationship. There is expression of love, but no intimacy, there is conversation, but no connection, there is facade, but no real freedom. At the end there was really never love or true relationship, because rules got in the way of really having true choice.
Are you in a loving 2 way relationship with Father or something else?