THE LINC COLLECTIVE

Sunday Preach Notes:
Beneath The Surface ~ Dyl Jahnig

Beneath the Surface:
Living by Grace, Not Performance

There is a place deeper than our striving. A place more beautiful than our best outcomes. It exists far beneath the surface of self-effort and human applause — a place called grace. In Galatians 2 and 3, the Apostle Paul issues a soul-shaking reminder to a people who began in the Spirit but were trying to finish in the flesh. His words cut through the noise of performance-based religion and beckon us to breathe again — deeply, freely, fully — in the oxygen of God’s love.

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me…” (Galatians 2:20). This isn’t just a poetic line — it’s the spiritual reality of all who believe. When we place our faith in Jesus and inhale His grace, we die to the striving that once defined us and awaken to a whole new reality under His care.

One of the most arresting moments of the message comes when Dylan recalls floating below the surface of those Florida waters, breathing borrowed oxygen, completely unaware of the signals he had skipped past in training. He wasn’t qualified. He wasn’t even ready. But he was willing. And his dive instructor—steady, experienced, constant—guided him into wonder, writing instructions when signs failed, and coaxing him deeper when anxiety surfaced.

This is what grace does.

So many of us are living on the surface. We carry breath we don’t know how to release. We’re suffocating under spiritual perfectionism, gasping to be enough, striving to prove ourselves to others and even to God. But hear this: we were never meant to hold our breath in the life of faith. We were meant to breathe deeply of grace, again and again and again.

Grace is not just the door — it’s the air inside the house. It’s not a one-time moment at salvation — it’s the sustaining power that keeps us growing, thriving, and becoming on this journey with Jesus. You didn’t earn your way in, and you don’t have to strive to stay. What started in the Spirit must remain by the Spirit. Paul is clear: “Does God give you His Spirit and work miracles among you by your effort or because you believed?” (Galatians 3:5). The answer? Belief. Surrender. Trust.

And when we trust, truly trust, something changes. Our focus shifts. The pressure dissolves. Our souls stop screaming to perform, and we remember: Jesus is not impressed by our efforts — He is moved by our faith. The Gospel invites us to step out of religious muscle memory and float in the unforced rhythms of His love.

Life with Jesus requires a releasing of control. We must choose proximity over performance. Obedience over outcomes. Trust over trying harder. How often do we forget that it’s not our grip on God that sustains us, but His grip on us? Grace is the oxygen line—and the Guide never lets go.

There is a world beneath the surface of your striving that you’ve yet to explore. A world full of wonder and freedom and miraculous possibilities. But you’ll only see it when you surrender the need to measure up, let go of your own opinions and fears, and follow the voice of the One who knows the ocean floor of your destiny.

Grace calls you not to hold your breath in perfection or panic, but to participate — to keep breathing, keep following, and keep trusting. You may not know all the signals. You may not feel fully ready. But you know the Guide. And trust will always take you further than qualification.

Breathe again.

Grace has more to show you — not just where you’ve been, but where you’re going.

Let go of control. Go with the Guide. And explore the depths.

Because beneath the surface, there’s a life you were born to live — full of purpose, peace, and the presence of God Himself.

He has you. He holds you. He’s with you. Welcome to the deep.