Why fear?

Many of us are afraid of the devil and of his followers. But why are we afraid? Does not the bible tell us that when Jesus was raised from the dead that he came back with the keys to death and hell? The truth is that since that time the devil has been defeated and he knows it. But what he wants is to control us with fear and doubt. He wants us to be insecure and to feel guilty and blame ourselves and relive the mistakes of our past, even though God has forgiven us of the things which we won't forgive ourselves of. Put quite simply the desire of God is that every single person come to know him as their father and friend. That all would worship and praise and commune with Him for eternity in heaven. The devil's plan however is this: to take as many to hell with him as possible. So when he sees us trying to serve God and win souls he tries his best to make us doubt and feel like we aren't worthy to do what God has called us to. We let fear grip our hearts to the point that we give up. How many of our friends and family aren't saved? How many of them if they were to die today would wake up to an eternity in hell? God is bigger than the devil. We can't afford to let the fear of a powerless devil keep us from doing all we can to see that our friends and family don't end up in hell!