When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants . . . 1 Kings 8:35
My parents tried to teach me not to use drugs. Honestly, they did. Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) was around when I was in high school. I was even a student volunteer for their efforts. It’s not like no one ever told me about the dangers of using drugs. I was warned and I knew better. Still, I struggled and I failed . . . spectacularly. In my disaster though, I remembered something else my parents tried (successfully) to teach me – faith. I’m sure my parents, like all parents, hoped their kids wouldn’t struggle terribly, but they also knew that everyone fails, and that eventually, we all need saving. So, my parents taught me where to turn when I did fail. And for that, I’m profoundly grateful.
You will struggle and you will fail. That’s the lesson of today’s passage in which King Solomon stood before Israel, dedicating the new temple to God. In his monologue, Solomon looked into the future, seeing a time when his people would sin, wander from God, and suffer the consequences. He spoke of “when” this would happen, not “if” it would happen. Solomon knew what every parent knows – everyone struggles – and he prayed that his people would know how to respond when they inevitably failed. When you go the wrong way and fall down, get up, turn around, and return to God.
This is a timeless message for all of us. No matter who we are or where we’re at in life, we will struggle, and we will fail in some way. Some failures will be far more obvious than others, but still, we will fail. So, we must prepare for that eventuality, reminding ourselves and reminding our children of what to do when failure happens. When, not if, we struggle and when, not if, we fall, we must get up, turn ourselves around, and return to God. As humans, we will not and cannot be perfect. We can, however, learn to respond to our failures appropriately.