Turning Toward the Son: When Reaching Isn't Enough

There are seasons when life feels like one long stretch toward something just out of reach.

We're reaching for peace in anxious days. Reaching for purpose. Reaching for stronger faith. Reaching for healthier relationships. Reaching for the version of ourselves we think we ought to become.

Our culture applauds the pursuit. Work harder. Try more. Become better. But Scripture often points us in a different direction.

Several years ago, I sat down with the simple word Reach and spent five minutes writing whatever came to mind. Reading it again today, I'm struck by how much I still need the same reminder.

Maybe the answer isn't reaching harder. Maybe it's turning toward the One who has already reached down to us.

Reach

Reach for the stars.

Reach out and touch someone.

Reach your destination.

No one is beyond the reach of God….

Reaching is work. Reaching is striving.

Reaching is…

a funny word when you say it over and over.  Reach…reeeeach…..reeeeeach. But I digress…

Reach within to find yourself.

We reach out because we need something…or is it because we want something?

Sometimes we get what we want, but we reach again…it wasn't what we thought it was.

No…that's not really the best way to find myself…to find what I need. Do I really know what I need?

Reach…reeeeeach…reeeeeeeee ahh! Is that a cry for help?

Look at the sunflowers.

They reach for the sun…

Or do they turn to the sun…the sun reaches down to nourish the flower…to give it life. I stop reaching and turn to the Son…and He meets me right where I am.

Planted here in this desert land…dry and parched, drowning in the sands of time.

He reaches down…

He makes me bloom, bringing rains to refresh, the warmth of His face to bring life to these dry bones.

And so I reach out to God….

Turn my face to Him, extend my arms, my heart, my whole being to Him.

Not tight-fisted to grab hold in desperation…no…with open hands…freely

Reaching out to surrender… my life, my longings, my heart, my stubborn will...

To Him,

Who "rescued me because HE delights in me"!

"He reached down from heaven and rescued me: He drew me out of deep waters. He delivered me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was weakest, but the LORD upheld me. He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me because He delights in me." Psalm 18:16-19

Perhaps that's the invitation for all of us. We spend so much of our lives reaching—reaching for peace, purpose, security, significance, or simply the strength to make it through another day. Yet the gospel invites us to something altogether different. Instead of exhausting ourselves trying to grasp what only God can give, we are invited to turn toward the Son with open hands, trusting Him to meet us in our need.

The Christian life isn't lived by reaching a little higher each day. It's lived by turning our faces toward the Son, abiding in His presence, and allowing His life to be lived through us. 

The beautiful truth of Scripture is that our story doesn't begin with us reaching up to God. It begins with God reaching down to us. Before we ever sought Him, He sought us. Before we loved Him, He loved us. As John reminds us, "We love because He first loved us" 1 John 4:19. 

Before we could rescue ourselves, God reached down to us through Jesus Christ, offering forgiveness, new life, and the promise that we would never walk alone.

Psalm 18 paints that picture so beautifully. David doesn't describe climbing his way to God; he describes God reaching down to him. "He reached down from on high and took hold of me… He rescued me because He delighted in me" Psalm 18:16–19. What a breathtaking reminder that our hope rests not in how tightly we can hold on to God, but in how faithfully He holds on to us.

So, if your soul is weary from striving, stop reaching for just a moment. Turn your face toward the Son. Abide in His presence. Open your hands and surrender your expectations, your fears, your plans, and your longing to control what only He can accomplish. The God who reached down to rescue David is the same God who reaches into our lives today, delighting in His children and drawing us close.

Today, perhaps the invitation isn't to reach a little farther. Perhaps it's simply to turn your face toward the Son and receive the love of the God who has been reaching toward you all along. 

Will you keep striving to reach, or will you allow yourself to be reached by the God who delights in you?

Turning to Him,