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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