Remember the days of your youth in which the summer was spent playing outside with friends and you were always looking for the next adventure. In the heat of the sweltering summer sun, the shade of trees were a natural location to gather and relax.

Branches were climbed to find a good view or a comfortable place to sit and the adventurous (or bored) would hang off of them upside down just for a different view.

When you’re hanging upside down like that, the world looks completely backward and it’s difficult for your mind to reorient itself. Nothing looks quite the same because we are so accustomed to looking at everything from a different perspective.

I was thinking about that this past week as I read in Luke 16:15, “And He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of people, but God knows your hearts; because that which is highly esteemed among people is detestable in the sight of God.’?”

Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees about how they misvalued things because of looking at how they are viewed “in the sight of people” instead of “in the sight of God.” That which is highly sought after by people and strived for often are the things that pull us away from God or at least provide the greatest temptation.

We often wish to have a better financial situation. We justify it with the mindset that we don’t need to be rich, just comfortable and secure financially. In doing so, we frame our desire in a seemingly harmless way but underneath can lie a seeking for security apart from God. Finding ourselves in the sudden possession of wealth carries with it a great temptation to not fully rely on God. Just because something is highly sought after does not mean it is always what’s best for us.

Beyond material things such as finances, we come to much deeper issues like the things we struggle with. Whether it is mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety or physical health such as chronic pain or limited mobility; we strongly desire to rid ourselves of such things and to just be “normal” (whatever that is!).

We desire to be healed, to find fulfillment, to be complete, and to lack nothing. God has created us to desire such things but they can never be fully experienced, in the way in which God has intended, in this world. It is only through our relationship with Him and His saving grace for us that it can be done.

The struggles, insecurities and weaknesses we have in this life are not what hold us back but what bring us to God. In our brokenness, we find the God who knows our heart and loves us through it all. In our brokenness, we recognize our need for a Savior and we see the source of true hope. It is in the things of life that are often least sought after by people that we can find the greatest blessings because they lead us to find our strength and identity in Christ.

It might seem odd to think of brokenness as a blessing but maybe we just need to hang upside down and see things from a different perspective once again. Pray this week that God would give you a fresh perspective and open your eyes to see things as He does.

People’s EC Church is located at 216 Wagner St., Lehighton.