On Tenterhooks – A look at fighting anxiety through the Bible.

On tenterhooks.

Have you heard of this phrase? I had not just a few short days ago. But, if you know God — and how He works — you know that sometimes God shows you things. Repeatedly.

Like this phrase I had never heard of that I saw not once, but twice in one day.

For those who are with me and don’t know what this phrase means, let’s head over to our trusty online dictionaries.

USDictioary.com states, “‘on tenterhooks’ conveys a state of anxious anticipation or suspense, as if someone is waiting for a crucial outcome or event.“

While Merriam-Webster Dictionary says, On tenterhooks: in a state of uneasiness, strain or suspense. They add: “’On tenterhooks’ means ‘waiting nervously for something to happen.‘ The word tenter means ‘a frame used for drying and stretching cloth’ and is related to tent, so being ‘on tenterhooks’ compares the tenseness of the stretched fabric to the tension of nervous waiting.”

Waiting.

Oh, how I hate to wait.

I know I’m not the only one.

It seems like over the past five years, all I’ve been doing is waiting.

Waiting for my writing to take off.

Waiting for my daughter to be okay.

Waiting for God to tell me what to do.

Waiting anxiously for something to happen.

I’ve been on tenterhooks for a long time now.

Today, I was reminded of this phrase while I was listening to Philippians 4.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV)

Because I like to compare versions to better understand them, here it is in the Free Bible Version:

“Don’t worry about anything, but take everything to God in prayer, explaining your requests to him and thanking him for all he does. Then the peace that comes from God, which is better than we can ever imagine, will protect your thoughts and attitudes in Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 4:6-7

“Don’t worry about anything.” God has been telling me this for a long time now. He even gave me a book to write about it. And He says in one of my favorite chapters in the Bible:

“That’s why I’m telling you not to worry about your life. Don’t worry about what to eat, or what to drink, or what clothes to put on. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothes?” (Matthew 6:25 FBV)

Matthew 6 continues in verse 31 with, “So don’t worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ These are all the things that the heathen chase after, but your heavenly Father knows everything you need. Seek his kingdom first, and his way of living right, and everything will be given to you. So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow can worry about itself. There’s already enough evil in every day.” (Matthew 6:31-34 FBV emphasis my own)

God has many ways for me and you to fight anxiety and worry. In fact, the words anxious or anxiousness are mentioned 19 times in the New Testament alone.

God knows we have worries. He knows that, in this life, there will be uncertainty, change, bad news, the hope of good news. The prayer of good news.

I need some good news. Do you?

So today, I sit here “on tenterhooks” writing to you. Or rather — with His help and His Word — I’m releasing these “tenterhooks” to Him, praying and knowing that my prayers will be heard. That these long-awaited answers I seek will finally be revealed. And that “the peace that comes from God, which is better than we can ever imagine, will protect [my] thoughts and attitudes in Christ Jesus.”

I will have peace in knowing that God is listening. He is always listening. He is always making a way. And I have nothing to worry about or fear.

Would you like to add more of God’s Word into your day?

Head to my Amazon author page to see my devotionals I currently have available.

_{“Tenterhook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tenterhook. Accessed 11 Nov. 2024.}