The Anxiety of Esther

For the past month, we have been talking about anxiety; what it is, what causes it, how to overcome it and we’ve given a few examples of anxiety found in scripture. Most of the time, anxiety is rooted in expectancy of exaggerated outcomes and what we are worrying ourselves over has a very low possibility of actually coming to fruition. There are, however, times when we are dealing with real problems with heavy ramifications or even life or death scenarios. When the danger or threat is real, what is the right way to deal with anxiety then?

We can find a good example of this type of anxiety in the book of Esther. Esther was a Jewish girl, plucked from obscurity and chosen to become the new Queen of Persia. Right away, the new queen is thrown into the fire as she is made aware by her cousin Mordecai of a plot to eradicate the entire Jewish population throughout the Persian empire. This isn’t a hollow threat or an exaggerated expectation, the king’s decree had been set and the clock was ticking. The root of worry was legitimate.

When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes. - Esther 4:1-3

As if the impending annihilation of her people wasn’t bad enough, Esther seemed like she was the person in the best position to change the mind of the king but there was one big problem; to gain audience with the king, someone had to be invited.

“All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.” - Esther 4:11

So, not only are the lives of her people on the line but if she does go to plead their case before the king when he’s not in the right mood, she could be put to death before the rest of them. Real problems with real, life or death consequences.

Now, most of us will probably not ever find ourselves in this exact situation, there are going to be many times in our lives where we face the unknown when things could go very wrong very quickly. The fear can be crippling. What is the answer when the consequence for being wrong can be so catastrophic? For Esther, the choice nearly made her freeze in place, but some hard but true words helped bring clarity to the difficult situation.

When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” - Esther 4:12-14

When we are hit with fear and anxiety, the antidote is truth and love. When they were pressed against the wall, Mordecai gave Esther the hard truth that even though she was the queen, that didn’t mean that she was necessarily safe from harm. This is important because the fear of death could have kept Esther from being able to do what needed to be done. Going in front of the king could have been the end for her but, then again, she and the rest of the Jews already had the edict of death hanging over them. The harsh truth might not seem like it is the encouragement that someone wrestling with fear could need, but it’s definitely not helpful to ignore reality and pretend like the situation isn’t that bad. The truth may be heavy, but without it we can’t move forward in clarity. This isn’t an invitation to be an honest jerk, bulldozing a hurting person with the truth, but we do need to be able to give an honest evaluation of things.

Going hand in hand with the truth is love. You can be truthful without being loving, but you can’t be loving without truth. At the end of Mordecai’s tough love speech, he pivots the attention off of the problems and back onto a hopeful outcome rooted in placing Esther’s faith in God. He doesn’t give her false hope by making false prophecies of a rosy future that God didn’t say. Instead, he reminds her that God had brought her to that position at that place and at that time and, maybe, it could be for this purpose. He knew that God was not going to let the Jewish people be completely wiped out because they were the people that God had specifically called out to be His own. He knew that, somehow and in some way, God would deliver them. He couldn’t promise Esther that she would be safe or that things would work out, He could point her back to the truth that she could trust God with her future and that it was her responsibility to do what she knew was right.

We can and will face incredible challenges throughout our lives. You’ve had them, I’ve had them. It is heavy. It can be crushing, at times, but we cannot allow anxiety and fear to cause us to freeze in place or worse. Confront the situation with truth and remember that you, like Esther, were created with a purpose. Just like Esther, God has brought you to this moment and this season for a reason. I can’t tell you what God’s plans for you right now are. I can’t tell you that everything is going to work out just the way you had hoped. But, you aren’t responsible to have all of the answers. You are responsible to do what is right and to move forward.

This month, we have worked to show you that anxiety is does not have to be a life sentence. There are real choices and biblical counsel that can help to pull you out of the darkness!