# Does God Wait for Us to Stop Struggling Before He Steps In?

**URL:** <https://forums.crosswalk.com/t/does-god-wait-for-us-to-stop-struggling-before-he-steps-in/11335>\
**Category:** General Faith\
**Tags:** featured\
**Created:** [August 7, 2025, 10:55am UTC](https://forums.crosswalk.com/t/does-god-wait-for-us-to-stop-struggling-before-he-steps-in/11335 "2025-08-07T10:55:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
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**Author:** ![Fritzpw\_Admin](https://forums.crosswalk.com/user_avatar/forums.crosswalk.com/fritzpw_admin/32/250_2.png) [@Fritzpw\_Admin](https://forums.crosswalk.com/u/Fritzpw_Admin)\
**Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 10:55am UTC](https://forums.crosswalk.com/t/does-god-wait-for-us-to-stop-struggling-before-he-steps-in/11335/1 "2025-08-07T10:55:33Z")

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> **Does God Wait for Us to Stop Struggling Before He Steps In?**
>
> ![lifeguard-waiting-to-rescue](https://forums.crosswalk.com/uploads/default/original/2X/1/1548977e361b7e9dcf566aca9ee429a4dd1da5a4.jpeg)
> 
> If surrender is the doorway to rescue, how much of our pain is prolonged by resistance?  
> #PoorInSpirit #SurrenderAndRescue #LetGoLetGod #christianforums #crosswalkforums #forums #crosswalk #faithcommunity #faithforums

https://omny.fm/shows/the-crosswalk-devotional/let-the-poor-say-i-am-rich/embedImagine watching someone drown—flailing, panicking, gasping for help. Now imagine the lifeguard standing nearby, waiting… and not moving. Not yet.

It sounds unthinkable—until you learn what trained rescuers already know: **trying to save someone who’s still fighting can pull both people under.** The safest moment to intervene is after they stop struggling. When they surrender.

That image is hard to forget. And for many believers, it hits close to home.

How many times have we begged God to move while still clinging to control?  
How often do we ask Him to rescue us—while still trying to fix it ourselves?

In Matthew 5:3, Jesus says, _“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”_ It’s not a verse about financial poverty—it’s about _spiritual humility._ A deep awareness of our helplessness. A total dependence on God. The kind of poverty that stops striving and makes space for grace.

But that raises a difficult question:

**Does God wait until we stop resisting before He acts?**  
Is our struggle part of the reason we feel stuck?

What’s the difference between surrender and passivity?  
And how do we know when we’ve truly let go?

_“Just like the lifeguard, God is patiently waiting for you to be still so that He can jump in and rescue you from the deep waters of your life.”_

> **Infographic**
>
> ![surrender-before-rescue](https://forums.crosswalk.com/uploads/default/original/2X/6/6f9f3bfd65d7919c8c7437d016429b85754a0c64.jpeg)  
> ![god-waits-until-surrender-infographic](https://forums.crosswalk.com/uploads/default/original/2X/5/547336f5e76bc01a25e88218ef423dd358f79b46.jpeg)

Read the full devotional here:

> **[Let the Poor Say I Am Rich - The Crosswalk Devotional - August 7 - Daily...](https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/crosswalk-devo/let-the-poor-say-i-am-rich-the-crosswalk-devotional.html?utm_medium=cwforums&utm_source=Forums&utm_campaign=cwpost)**
>
> Read Let the Poor Say I Am Rich - The Crosswalk Devotional - August 7 from today's daily devotional. Be encouraged and grow your faith with daily and weekly devotionals.

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**Author:** ![Joe](https://forums.crosswalk.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Joe](https://forums.crosswalk.com/u/Joe)\
**Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 1:21am UTC](https://forums.crosswalk.com/t/does-god-wait-for-us-to-stop-struggling-before-he-steps-in/11335/2 "2025-08-08T01:21:25Z")

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Hi,

Not always.

Remember that widow that gave all she had?

Mark 12:41-44 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

She did not stop being in need herself.

So God doesn’t always end our struggles just because we do something kind for those less fortunate. I believe we are expected to that regardless of our station in life. Paul struggled but learned to be content.

Philippians 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Struggles guide us to contentment.

Blessings