Worth More than Fear

When I was a kid, I was terrified of the dark. Even still, I have trouble falling asleep in absolute darkness, and I panic when the power goes out. Because of this fear, though, there were many nights when I would, terror-gripped, be hiding under my covers crying as I called for Mom or Dad from my bedroom. Daddy would come in and tell me I shouldn't be afraid. I wouldn't believe him, though, until he had checked my closet, or told me the doors were locked, or stayed in my room until I fell asleep.
Fear only dissolves when we realize we have nothing to fear. We need reason. This goes for a lot of things. Someone could say, "Case, you would love this movie!" My first response is, "Why?" In the same way, when Dad told me I had no reason to be afraid, my first response was, "Why?"

My first response has not changed. My faith is small, and I don't always listen when the Lord says, "Case, just don't be afraid!"
One of the glorious characteristics of Jesus, though, is He always gives us promises with the comfort. He gives us an answer to the "why?"

"Even the hairs of your head are all counted. Don't be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:30-31

Jesus doesn't simply state, "Hey, don't be afraid!" and then walk away with a shrug and a "just cuz!" when we ask "why?"
He says the reason I should not be afraid is because I'm worth more than many sparrows.

Why should this make me feel any better, or any less afraid?

The disciples would have heard this promise and heard echoes of what Jesus had mentioned about sparrows in His Sermon on the Mount, too: "Look at the birds in the sky. They don't sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you worth much more than they?" (Matt. 6:26) His followers were told to look at the birds of the air as a reflection of the Lord's provision and care, and as a standard for them to compare their worth to.
And who would say that the sparrows are worth more than we are? We are called Children of God, His very own; Treasured and Beloved.

So when He says my reason for not needing to be afraid is that I'm worth more than many sparrows, I should not be surprised. He is pointing out His care and provision, His attention to detail, and a greater care and attention than He gives the sparrows.

The worth He places on me is far, far more than many sparrows. He will care for me, providing for all my physical and metaphysical needs. I can be confident and fearless, not because my circumstances say I can be, but because He places me at a worth high enough to be. 

So, in a way, I'm worth too much to be afraid. I'm worth more than fear. Fear belongs to those who don't know what they're worth or don't know who's looking out for them. But because I have both, I have no need to be afraid. Of anything.

"And GOD is faithful..."

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

I think it really interesting, and worth noting, that Paul does not write to the Corinthians and say, "Don't worry, your temptations are nothing unusual; everyone faces them. But I believe in you! You are strong overcomers!" 

No, Paul says, "Your temptations are the same every man faces. But God is faithful."

Paul does not give his audience any false hope in themselves, but points them directly to the only source of true strength. 

Sometimes I feel, in our efforts to exhort and encourage others (especially fellow Believers), we can be very quick to point to their own strengths that will get them through. We sound something similar to "Don't worry, So-and-So; I know you have it in you. You're such a strong person, and you've done so much, and you're so good, and you're so great at these things," and so on. But truly, we're all poor and broken sinners incapable of doing one good thing apart from Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit within us.

So it should not be surprising that Paul puts the emphasis on God's faithfulness in his encouragements. He is very aware of how easy it is to encourage someone in their own strength, and very aware of how misleading that can be. Our only strength, our only hope of goodness, lies in Christ.
In addition, that is the only encouragement I can give you in the every day. There are constant temptations to sin or doubt or worry or despair. But God is faithful. And that's something we can count on. 

Just some food for thought. :)

Hope you are all having a fantastic week!

Style{in} Skirts: Daggone, No-Good Winter

Yes, this is my first Style{in} Skirts post in a while, and I'm sort of sorry. 

(ok, actually I'm really sorry. I'm just trying not to kick myself for being such a slacker.)

But let's be real... it's really hard to look good in the winter time! Especially with all the snow and crazy weather Virginia has been experiencing, I typically leave my dorm looking more like an eskimo than a stylish, put-together young woman. The motivation to find a good outfit when I'm just going to put three and a half layers on top of it is not there.

So, yes, I'm blaming the daggone weather for my lack of discipline in posting. And my recent lack of fashion sense. 

This is an outfit I wore about a month ago that my brother snapped pictures of real quick after class. (It was super cold that day, which is why I awkwardly have my hands crammed into my tiny jacket pockets, but hopefully ya'll get the idea.) 

It's one of my favorites because it takes a hand-me-down, super comfy, plain and unattractive dress and makes it socially acceptable. I threw over it my burgundy zipper cardigan-thing, slipped on a pair of jeans underneath, and boom shakka lakka, you have a dress that's still comfy, but no longer unflattering. 

This is a big reason that I hang on to a lot of clothes that sometimes don't fit anymore, or why I pick out unflattering basics at thrift stores. Layers are key. If it's cheap/free, and a color/type of clothing that goes with a lot, why would you pass that up? Like I said, when it's cold out, nobody really sees what you're wearing underneath all your layers of clothing anyways. 

This was the first time I had tried the oh-so-hipster cuffed jeans. I thought I would hate it, but turns out I liked it a lot! Especially my fave sneaker pumps. Yes, my ankles were a bit cold, but whatever, I felt trendy.

_______________

There you have it. I'm not promising I'll be more consistent with these with the weather still cold (it's snowing AGAIN as I write). With a lack of sunshine and a lack of a photographer these days, I can't guarantee anything. 

In other news, college kids like me are nearing midterms and a bunch of other fun things like that. Tis the season for stress to begin escalating again, and for studying to be taken a bit more seriously. So love the students in your life! ;)

Hope ya'll are having a fabulous February week.

Love, Case

Dress: hand-me-down; Cardi: Cotton On (clearance!); Jacket: American Eagle; Scarf: probably Target; Jeans: American Eagle; Shoes: Target

Linking up at: Penniless Socialite, Fry Sauce and Grits, Mix Match Fashion, Style Elixir, Walking in Memphis in High Heels, Mama and More, Still Being Molly, Fizz and Frosting, Rhea Etcetera, The Pleated Poppy, Because Shanna Said So, My Girlish Whims, and Two Thirty-Five Designs

Glimpses of Eden

My little corner of southeastern Virginia is under a layer of icy white. As I write this, I hear that today is the coldest day Virginia has experienced in 20 years? I'm not sure if that's true, but I'd believe it. This isn't the typical Virginia snow. This snow has come and stayed and re-froze and kept schools closed for a whole week. Folks are driving way slower (or should be), spontaneous, snowed-in sleepovers happen more often, and life is just a little bit slower.

The lack of homework and racing around has given me a lot of time to reflect on where the Lord has brought me, even in such a short time. A friend I haven't seen in two months swung by, and asked me about some rocky things that I was going through back in December, and it was so humbling to realize that these were things I didn't even struggle with anymore. The Lord has such a sneaky way of doing His work that sometimes it takes those sort of conversations to make you realize where He's been moving and you haven't even noticed. Even in two short months, I have way less health issues, my family is peaceful, and I have experienced so much healing.

How does He do it? I don't even know. But He has good plans, and good methods.
This morning I stumbled upon Isaiah 51:3:

"The LORD will comfort Zion...

He will make her desert like Eden

and her wilderness

like the LORD's garden.

Happiness and joy will be found in her -

thanks and the sound of singing."

Last semester I was experiencing mental and emotional breakdowns every week, my physical health was steadily declining for mysterious reasons, and every moment was a fight to just keep moving in the right direction and keep swinging. I remember reading this verse and realizing that I doubted the Lord's ability to heal and restore areas of my body, my mind, and my heart because they were characteristics of the Lord that I had not experienced. So I cried out "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

I have so far to go, and I know the Lord is far from finished with me. But I'm seeing glimpses of Eden, and seeing areas of my life go from "wilderness" to the "garden of the Lord." And it's beautiful, and encouraging and humbling.