“Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord! Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!” (Ps 130:1–2)

As I have entered into the Lenten season, I have come to realize my desperate need for God’s grace. During Lent we are called to fast, pray, and give alms. As I have attempted to give up various things that I enjoy, I have been confronted by my humanity. I struggle to give up even small things without complaining to my poor wife or, at times, even failing to follow through with what I set out to give up.

Even in the small things, Christ desires to enter into our sufferings with us. He invites us to cry out to Him. He promises that He is with us and that He is for us. So often, we slip into a “woe is me” mentality, but Jesus invites us to shift our focus onto Him. Rather than looking inward when we struggle or throwing ourselves a pity party, we can look to Jesus and we can cry out to Him.

How much better would our lives be if we didn’t allow those moments of struggle to shake our identity or discourage us but rather we allowed them to remind us of our desperate need for the Savior who wants to save us? Jesus willingly entered into his passion and death for us, freely and wholeheartedly, and He suffered to the end, giving every last drop of blood. How eager, then, must He be to hear our cries and accompany us through our suffering, no matter how large or small that suffering may be? By simply looking at the Cross, we can come to the profound realization that not only is Jesus real, not only does He hear our cries, but there is nothing He would not do to ensure that we enter Paradise.