The Key to Reducing Stress

When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.


So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate.
He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people. Esther 4:4-6, 8


Living safely within the king’s gate, Esther had been sheltered from the news of Xerxes’ edict to terminate her people. Mordecai’s obvious and visible expression of his emotion caught Esther’s attention. Her first impulse wasn’t to hear his lament, but to dress him up and put a happy face on the situation.


Mordecai came prepared. Not only did he voice his distress, he also had a copy of edict in writing. These weren’t the foolish rants of an old man. These weren’t the illogical worries of a person who had over-thought the situation. These were the facts.


It’s easy to become worried and upset over half-truths and suppositions. If the boss gives you a wrong look, you find yourself searching monster.com. Maybe he just had indigestion. Maybe some other issue was troubling him. You don’t know until you ask.


There is a whole host of things to worry about. Worriers definitely have job security. The potential of things that might go wrong is endless. But, worry was never intended as a state of being. Worry is a signal to pray (Philippians 4:6-7). When our thoughts have ventured out of our depth and out of our control, this is the place where God belongs. It’s beyond our reach, but it’s within His.


Rather than becoming upset over what might be, we need to discover what is. Paul advises us, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-10). The truth is the greatest stress reliever that there is.


If you don’t know where you stand with someone, talk to them about it. If you’re afraid that everything might fall apart, then you need to evaluate your circumstance with Paul’s criteria.


At a minimum, remember this: God is good. God is on your side. God has helped you in the past. God is with you today. God holds your future.




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