To live joyfully we must surrender our hurts, our resentments, our justifiable anger and our desire to get even for physical, emotional or spiritual harm done to us. We must “let go” of all the things that grind us up and weigh us down. 

The result is freedom, happiness and a joy-filled life. 

Why is this so hard to do? Why do we keep taking it back? Attempting to control everything? Exchanging joyful living for anxiety and fear?

It’s the human condition—all too evident in the world around us. We nurse our grudges and dwell on the wrongs that have been done to us. We look for opportunities to strike back, to get revenge and to put others down. 

The result is misery. Until we learn to let go. To live joyfully, we must empty ourselves of self and be filled with unselfish love. 

Help me, God. This is really hard.