--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is true is that in all these…" description: "\"“What is true is that in all these despairing and strained efforts to believe, what we really wanted was not to believe. That is, we didn’t want that w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/dietrich-bonhoeffer-303_believe-in-god_what-is-true-is-that-in-all-these-despai_272607.jpg" --- # What is true is that in all these despairing and strained… ![“What is true is that in all these despairing and strained efforts to believe, what we really wanted was not to believe. That is, we didn’t want that which is the first requirement of faith, namely, to surrender ourselves totally, not to think of ourselves anymore, to extinguish completely our need…” quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/dietrich-bonhoeffer-303_believe-in-god_what-is-true-is-that-in-all-these-despai_272607.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/dietrich-bonhoeffer-303_believe-in-god_what-is-true-is-that-in-all-these-despai_272607.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/dietrich-bonhoeffer-303_believe-in-god_what-is-true-is-that-in-all-these-despai_272607.jpg) > ““What is true is that in all these despairing and strained efforts to believe, what we really wanted was not to believe. That is, we didn’t want that which is the first requirement of faith, namely, to surrender ourselves totally, not to think of ourselves anymore, to extinguish completely our need for recognition and recognize God alone, to put our trust and dare to believe in God alone. We would surrender what was uncomfortable to us, but not that which we cared about! To have faith means to trust and to dare unconditionally, and that we didn’t want; we wanted to set conditions, and thereby we missed the whole point, and our whole effort was not genuine. We did not want to believe. If”” [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faith requires total surrender and trusting God without conditions; we often seek comfort over genuine belief. **In simple terms:** Faith is trusting God fully, without self‑interest. Key Takeaway Let go of personal conditions to truly trust. Themes faith trust surrender authenticity Mood reflective serious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - spiritual formation - ethical decision‑making - leadership under oppression Key Concepts theology existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What conditions do you place on your trust? - How can you practice unconditional belief? A Different Perspective Human desire for security can block true faith. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe in god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-in-god/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) ## Related quotes > [Even if you may be down to the worst, the best is potentially within you. You only have to find it, release it, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/even-if-you-may-be-down-to-the-worst-the-best-is-potentially-within/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [When one has a crisis of faith it means one is struck by the realisation than one has been pretending know things that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-boghossian/when-one-has-a-crisis-of-faith-it-means-one-is-struck-by-the/) [Peter Boghossian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-boghossian/) > [Faith means holding on something that you cannot see but yet you envisioned that it will come to pass by the Grace of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/faith-means-holding-on-something-that-you-cannot-see-but-yet-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“One has to make do with what time one has. I was conscious that my task was of another kind: that I must try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/one-has-to-make-do-with-what-time-one-has-i-was-conscious-that-my/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Things in this world are temporary. If events are turning WELL, enjoy them; If they go WRONG, don't worry, they won't last long. Remember:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/things-in-this-world-are-temporary-if-events-are-turning-well-enjoy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Faith means the fundamental response to the love that has offered itself up for me. It thus becomes clear that faith is ordered primarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-urs-von-balthasar/faith-means-the-fundamental-response-to-the-love-that-has-offered/) [Hans Urs von Balthasar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-urs-von-balthasar/) > [I have learned that faith means trusting in advance what will only make sense in reverse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/i-have-learned-that-faith-means-trusting-in-advance-what-will-only/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [“...to have true faith means believing in things you cannot see just as true love sometimes means making choices you never thought you'd have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-watts/to-have-true-faith-means-believing-in-things-you-cannot-see-just-as/) J.D. Watts > [Faith means the purposeful suspension of critical thinking. It’s nothing to be admired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/faith-means-the-purposeful-suspension-of-critical-thinking-it-s/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“Grace means God gives. Faith means I receive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-lewis-w-gregory/grace-means-god-gives-faith-means-i-receive/) Dr. Lewis W Gregory > [We operate by faith, which means that we have confidence in what God says, whether we fully understand it or not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/we-operate-by-faith-which-means-that-we-have-confidence-in-what-god/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Faith means a lot to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-alaba/faith-means-a-lot-to-me/) [David Alaba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-alaba/) > [“Crossing the threshold of faith means that we work out of a sense of dignity and see service as a vocation. 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