I ain't afraid!

“Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born, I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the LORD said to me,
“Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all whom I send you you shall go, and whatever I command you you shall speak.
Be not afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,
says the LORD.”
(Jeremiah 1:4-8).

Before we get started, check out my latest on Locals, The pros and cons of appealing to scripture in religious debates (although, I think I may have been more polemical than I intended), my previous article, Jonah: God's coward, and please make sure you check this out and share it, Help with medical bills)
Alright, y'all, so, I'm not going to do a Bible study over the Book of Jeremiah (don't rule it out, I have done whole books before, Let's talk about the Maccabean revolt)
But, I want to discuss several things. Beyond the obvious pro-life message (which, oddly, I'm not going to discuss, abortion is murder, but, also, read Jeremiah 1:5). I want to talk about Fear.
Sadly, not the Industrial Metal band, Fear Factory (Resurrection).
No, what I want to talk about is this.
“Be not afraid of them, for I am with you, to deliver you, says the LORD”. (Jeremiah 1:8)
Remember how we talked last time about Jonah being a coward and acting like a spoiled brat because Nineveh WASN'T destroyed?
Here, God is telling Jeremiah NOT to be afraid because of what he wants him to do. Jonah tried to flee at every turn!
For reasons that are beyond me, Jonah thought about himself, very much in a self centered way. Jeremiah, on the other hand, seems to have been quite content with talking to God, and doing what God told him. Again, read the book by yourself.
I am someone with high anxiety. I always think that the worst thing that is going to happen WILL happen.
That's not logical. I'm not Jeremiah, but I'm no Jonah, either.
But, I guess what I'm trying to say is this, “Be not afraid”, HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS JOHN PAUL II FOR THE INAUGURATION OF HIS PONTIFICATE
*All verses from Revised Standard Version Bible, Ignatius Edition, Copyright 2006, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.

Adam Charles Hovey is the founder of the Catholicism, News, and whatever community on Locals, and host of the (usually) weekly Bible study, Coffee and Christianity