In Romans 9, the Apostle Paul clearly asserts that salvation is an act of sovereign grace. It is the not the result of human desire or effort; it rests solely with the mercy of God. If salvation is not up to us but up to God, what should be our response? We should be humbled, not angered. Likewise, recognizing that God not only ordains the ends but the means, we should diligently pursue God's purpose with a continual cry for God's merciful work in us.