“Our efforts to stay afloat — that is, our efforts to earn God’s love — are always counterproductive. We must simply open our spiritual eyes and see that we are in a river of God’s love and that our staying afloat and moving along are God’s responsibility. All we have to do is surrender.”

(Benner, David G. Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality. Expanded ed. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Books, 2015, p. 62)

I’ve read that a drowning person being rescued by a lifeguard needs to relax and let the lifeguard do the work. Similarly, the sinner being saved by God needs to relax and let God do the saving. In either case, let your savior do the work. You’ll be better off for it.