Good News or Fake News: Hope — Waiting for the Real News

By Drake Hunter | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

When you look for hope, peace, joy, and love in your relationships and reality during this Advent Season, what source is shaping who you are—the Good News or the fake news?

Across Colorado, the nation, and around the world, people start their day scrolling through headlines, alerts, predictions, and debates. The news cycle never stops. It rarely offers hope. But here’s a question at the start of this Advent season: How much of what influences you every day is genuine good news, and how much is cleverly disguised fake news? And here’s a more personal take: When you seek direction, identity, and meaning… are you following the real Jesus—or a version filtered and edited by the loudest voices of our time?

Advent isn’t just about counting down to Christmas. It’s about uncovering the truth behind all the noise—about re-aligning our hearts toward the news that never expires, never misleads, and unites rather than divides. Advent pulls us into a story where hope, peace, joy, and love are not just ideals—they’re grounded in something (and Someone) solid. This week, we kick off this mini-series with HOPE—the first candle in the Advent rhythm.

Let me be clear: Hope is not optimism. Hope is not just wishing. Hope is a stance. A discipline. A form of inner resilience. It’s the ability to wait patiently, to endure without breaking, and to trust without having every detail figured out. This reminder can help you stay grounded and confident in your faith during Advent.

Please know and understand that hope starts with waiting. Waiting isn’t passive—it’s active attention. It’s like a farmer watching the skies, tending the soil, preparing for something that isn’t here yet but is deeply expected.

In a culture obsessed with instant gratification, hope reminds us that good news is worth waiting for, unlike fake news that demands immediate attention.

Hope also challenges us. Hope asks us to go beyond our comfort zone. It pushes us past cynicism and shallow stories that divide us. Hope doesn’t shrink life—it expands it. It opens up new possibilities for our state, our families, our futures. Yes, stretching hurts. But it also prepares us. Every Coloradan who has faced wildfire, drought, loss, or hardship knows this truth: Hope stretches us so we can carry more than we thought possible.

Finally, hope looks to trust. Trust is the bridge between good news and fake news. Fake news plays on emotions. Good news roots us in our true identity. Trust pulls us out of fear and into clarity—believing that truth will stand, even when life gets shaky.

Advent hope challenges us and asks: Who or what are you trusting to define who you are – headline news, social trends, or the true, unchanging Jesus?

So, this week, with Hope, ask yourself: Where do you turn first for truth? The Good News or the Fake. Something to reflect on during this Advent season.

With that, most know my view on Christianity: It’s about becoming more human through Jesus, not more religious. Advent isn’t about piling on religion; it’s about becoming more fully human, more awake, more whole.

This Advent season, let’s start with a simple question: When you read your daily news, which source is shaping who you are—the Good News or the fake news in all that it represents and the purpose behind it?

Hope begins when we stop letting headlines set our horizon… and start letting truth set our hearts. That shift can inspire hope and resilience, even when things are uncertain.

Next week, peace and the question: what voices calm you, and which ones quietly control you? Until then…may true HOPE be your reality as we all become more like Christ! 

With much HOPE,

Pastor Drake

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.