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It Doesn't Affect My Salvation
It Doesn’t Affect My Salvation
Stuff happens.
That’s life. We get sick. Co-workers stab us in the back. Stock markets crash. The wrong guy gets elected (from our perspective). Economies tank. Jobs get lost. Friends and loved ones die. Children disobey. Spouses do us wrong. Decisions don’t turn out the way we thought. People don’t go along with our ideas.
In those moments, we have a choice. We can spend our time dwelling on how awful everything is because it just isn’t going our way. We can whine and moan, complain and groan. We can pitch fits and throw tantrums. We can decide to take vengeance. We can show everyone who’s really the boss. We can give people the cold shoulder. We can hold grudges. We can destroy relationships. We can act like the 4-year-old who didn’t get his way. In short, we can blow it all completely out of proportion and allow it to destroy our lives and potentially even our eternities.
OR…
We can keep it all in perspective. Romans 8:37-39 says:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (ESV).
Some of the things I mentioned above are pretty big in our world. But that is the extent of their impact…our world. When stuff happens, remember that it won’t affect your salvation unless you let it by blowing it out of proportion. Sure, negative things happen. Sure, we need to deal with them. Sure, we are going to get angry sometimes and sad sometimes. But our life isn’t over. Our eternity isn’t ruined. We can take a deep breath, dig our hand deeper into God’s, and face life on God’s terms.
In the same chapter, Paul says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18, ESV).
Yes, we are going to suffer. Yes, we are going to face troubles. But no, they do not have to overcome us. Through Jesus Christ we are more than conquerors. When something doesn’t go your way, take a deep breath, smile, and remember “It doesn’t affect my salvation.”
Then respond God’s way. It always works.
--Edwin L. Crozier
