Dark Headlines

Happy Sunday,

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John 1:5

How dark headlines changed me.
Somehow, I ended up as the go-to girl for wars, tragedies, and general global mayhem at The Pour Over.

To be clear, we writers don’t have assigned “beats” (that’s what professional journalists call them; I saw it on TV). We just claim whichever major headline interests us. In the beginning, I claimed the international unrest stories because they generally don’t require much humor… and the other writers are much funnier than I am. Too much pressure.

But a strange, unexpected thing has happened after two years of writing about wars and terrorism and earthquakes and submarine crashes: my vision of God’s glory has only grown.

Forcing myself to look closely into deep darkness and shine light into it for our readers, again and again, has trained my heart to see (and believe) a few realities:

1. Our world is broken beyond human repair. 

The depth and complexity of global issues can instill a sense of helplessness like nothing else. 

Take Israel’s war with Hamas. The conflict goes back (literally) thousands of years. Distrust and enmity are core to the identity of Israelis and Palestinians. Faith and land disputes mean they’re diametrically opposed to each other. Then alliances draw others into the fray. Any peace (which takes years to negotiate) is temporary, lasting a few years or decades… only to unravel again. 

It leaves me feeling like all human efforts are futile. True, lasting peace will take God’s intervention and a renovation of our hearts. We’re completely dependent on him.  

2. This world is not our home. 

Jesus tells us he’s “going to prepare a place for you” (John 14:3). Peter calls us “strangers and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11). Paul calls us “citizens of heaven” (Philippians 3:20) and “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). The reality is clear no matter the metaphor: We don’t belong here. War and chaos and death feel wrong and unnatural because they are. 

When life is going well, I don’t find myself dwelling on eternity with Jesus very often. But when the world’s brokenness is on full display—that’s when my longing for a new world is awakened.

3. Death and evil won’t have the final say.

We know how this story ends: the entire universe made completely new. That means that whenever it seems like darkness is winning and all hope feels lost, the story’s not over yet.

The Lord will right all wrongs and deal with all injustice. Corrupt leaders will be deposed by the King of kings. Enemies will drop their weapons and bow before the Prince of Peace. Creation itself will be healed, and the restoration will last forever.

Eternity changes everything.
When I first started writing for TPO, I thought our common saying “eternity changes everything” was a little trite (sorry, Jason). Now, it’s the bedrock of my daily work. 

Only the hope of Jesus’ return, and the eternity to follow, can give us a purpose and joy that can’t be shaken by the headlines that shake the world. 

What do you think?
Steph Juliot

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Recommended: I (Jason again… Steph is back to writing the news) frequently advocate for simply spending more time with Jesus, focusing on quantity time (quality will follow). One way I do that is with Dwell*, the best audio Bible app I've found.

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