What do we do when the “doom scrolling” gets too much? When the world seems too dark, too bad, too hopeless?

I’ve found hope in an unlikely place: the book of Revelation. In it, we encounter the glorious Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb. And then things get dark, they get bad, and they look hopeless (to put it mildly).

But we see that Lamb conquer sin, Death, and Hades. And we see the final reversal of the curse in Eden—things that were separated: from God are now returned to their right relationships.

This is a re-right ordering of the cosmos. God can finally dwell with God’s people once again. The curse is gone. Night, impurity, chaos, and sin are gone for good. The River of Life is flowing through the New Jerusalem, with the tree of life on its banks, back to its original purpose—feeding the nations with its never-ending fruit.

Yes, there are dark and difficult things here. But Jesus promises, “See, I am coming soon, . . . I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” (Rev. 22:12-13)

Jesus, thank you for the reminder that when the world is too hard and dark to bear, ultimately, you will conquer. You will make whole everything that has been broken, and you will feed your people from the river and tree of life. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen. 

Helen Troutman, Current LCM Board Member

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

-Revelation 22:1