Week 1: Let Go of the Grind
By: Mark Jenkins
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”– Galatians 5:1 (ESV)
I spent 20 years in the military, and somewhere along the way, I got really good at chasing performance. That’s what the culture teaches you: show up, grind hard, hit your marks and if you do it right, you move up. And I did. I earned the rank, collected the ribbons, built a name. I found a lot of my identity in being the guy who could get it done.
But under the surface, all that drive was covering something else, something heavier. It looked like ambition, but it was really fear. Fear that if I stopped climbing, I’d stop mattering. Fear that if I didn’t perform, I wouldn’t be seen. That fear became a quiet weight I carried everywhere, and it didn’t stay at the office. It followed me home.
Early in my career, I started pouring everything into work. Long hours. Constant deployments. Always chasing the next win. At work, I felt needed, respected, and valued. But at home? I felt unsure, disconnected, like I was failing at something I didn’t know how to succeed in…being a husband. So, I leaned into the place where I felt strong and in doing that, I slowly leaned away from the one I had promised to love, honor, and support…my wife.
I didn’t plan on choosing work over home. But I did. And it cost me everything.
That marriage ended in heartbreak, not just from distance, but from choices I made. I looked for validation in all the wrong places and people, instead of staying rooted in commitment. I hurt the people I loved most. And when it all fell apart, I was left asking: Who am I now? Without the rank, the reputation, the uniform…what was left?
That’s when Jesus met me. Not just as Savior, but as Healer.
And then Galatians 5:1 cut through the noise:
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free…”
I began to learn that Jesus didn’t just come to save me from sin…He came to set me free from the lies I’d built my life on. Lies that said I had to earn love. That my value depended on output. That performance defined identity. But that’s not freedom. That’s bondage in disguise.
Grace doesn’t play by the rules of a performance review. It’s not about metrics, accolades, or applause. It’s about Jesus…His sacrifice, His victory, and His unshakable love. Even when I had nothing to offer.
And here’s the part I’m still learning grace isn’t passive. It’s power. It empowers us to live differently…not to earn something, but because we’ve already been given everything. Freedom means choosing to live from grace, not for it. To trade hustle for rest. To stop chasing love and start living from it.
That shift didn’t happen all at once. But day by day, step by step, Jesus started reshaping how I saw myself… and how I lived.
Today, I’m remarried to an incredible woman, and I get to be a stepdad and grandpa…roles I never imagined for myself. And I carry the weight of that old season as a reminder. I don’t want to repeat those same cycles. I want to lead my family with presence, not distance. With grace, not grind. I want to protect what God’s given me and walk with others trying to do the same.
Because Jesus didn’t rescue me just to keep performing for approval. He rescued me to rest in Him and help others do the same.
So, if you’re where I was…feeling more seen at work than at home, stuck trying to prove you’re enough, I want you to know you don’t have to live like that anymore. You don’t have to carry that weight. Jesus already did.
You are free.
Free to be honest. Free to be whole. Free to show up fully…right where it matters most.
And this choice you’re making to step into this Be Free journey, carving out space for Jesus…it might be the start of something truly new.
Where He does something in you… so He can do something powerful through you.
Reflect
Where in your life are you still trying to earn love, approval, or worth?
What fear is driving your hustle?
When do you feel most like you have to “perform” for God or others?
What would it look like to live from grace, not for it, this week?
5:01 Freedom Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Let Galatians 5:1 be more than a verse I memorize—make it a truth I live. You’ve already broken the chains. Now help me walk out of the prison and leave behind the bondage of ______________________.
I reject the lie that I have to prove myself or fight this war alone. Equip me. Train me. Surround me with others who fight for freedom. Jesus, do something IN me before You do something THROUGH me.
May this be the start of a journey toward more of You and less of me.
In Jesus’ name, amen
