Lent Week 5: Step by Step Towards the Cross

By the fifth week of Lent, the journey starts to feel long.

What began with ashes and intention has turned into something quieter, slower. My Lenten resolutions -- just like my New Year's resolutions -- have waivered. I've lost track of my Lenten practices. Perhaps you may feel like you're just starting to feel the weight of them, realizing that you maybe bit off a little to much. The weight of this season is heavy in your gut. Or maybe you can't really feel it at all, in the mundanity of life.

Either way, Lent is a reminder. To keep walking. That season invites us deeper—not into perfection, but into presence.

Lent is not a sprint. It is a slow walk toward the Cross. A path marked by dust and grace, where we learn to keep going even when we’re weary. Where we practice perseverance not for its own sake, but because Jesus kept going, too.

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus… who for the joy set before him endured the cross.”
— Hebrews 12:1–2

Yet Jesus was not the first to walk the long, hard road with God.

Think of Moses, called to lead his people out of slavery. His path was not immediate. It was winding, involving multiple stints of wandering in the wilderness. It was filled with resistance, first from Pharaoh and later from the people themselves. Moses walked with a promise in his heart that took decades to unfold. And even then, he did not enter the Promised Land. Still, he kept going. Step by step. Faithful in the wilderness.

“Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future.”
— Hebrews 3:5

Or consider Hannah, who lived under the weight of unanswered prayer. Her longing for a child was deep and painful, year after year. Yet she continued to pour out her heart before God. She didn’t know when—or even if—her prayer would be answered. But she showed up. She trusted that God heard her. And eventually, she was given a son—and offered him back to God in worship.

Think, too, of Jeremiah, a prophet who spoke hard truths no one wanted to hear. He wept over Jerusalem, was thrown into a cistern, and endured rejection from his own people. And yet, he remained faithful to the word God gave him. His was not a celebrated ministry—but it was one marked by perseverance and love for God’s people.

“But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire… I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.”
— Jeremiah 20:9

And finally, look to Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’ most devoted followers. She stayed with him through the crucifixion, even as many others fled. She returned to the tomb in grief—and was the first to witness the risen Christ. Her love endured the cross. Her perseverance was met with resurrection.

“Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’”
— John 20:18

These stories remind us: faith is not always loud or triumphant. Sometimes it is quiet. Persistent. Hidden in the wilderness, whispered in prayer, or weeping beside the tomb. Lent invites us into that kind of faith—a long obedience in the same direction.

This week, we watch Jesus turn his face toward Jerusalem. He knows what lies ahead: betrayal, suffering, death. And still, he walks forward. Not because it is easy, but because love compels him. He walks toward the Cross—and he invites us to walk with him.

A Prayer for the Journey

Faithful God,
You walked the long road of suffering for love.
You sustained Moses in the wilderness, gave courage to Jeremiah, and met Mary in her grief.
Strengthen us when we feel tired.
Teach us to walk with perseverance, step by step,
even when the way is hard and the outcome is unclear.
Help us to trust that you are near,
and that your grace will meet us with every step we take toward the Cross.
Amen.