protector

I was reading Newsweek (4/7/07) this afternoon and read part of an interview with Elizabeth Edwards, John Edwards' wife. Two of the questions the interviewer asked her were about her faith in God and beliefs about God. Her responses were interesting and challenged me to think about what I would say in response to her.

Newsweek: You've kept God out of the public discussion of your situation (referring to death of her son). Why?

E. Edwards: I had to think about a God that would not save my son. Wade was- and I have lots of evidence of this; it's not just his mother saying it - a good and gentle boy. He reached out to people who were misfits and outcasts all the time...You'd think that if God was going to protect somebody, he'd protect that boy. But not only did he not protect him, the wind blew him from the road. The hand of God blew him from the road. So I had to think, "What kind of God do I have that doesn't intervene-in fact, may even participate- in the death of this good boy?" I talk about it in my book, that I had to accept that my God was a God who promised enlightenment and salvation. And that's all. Didn't promise us protection. I've had to come to grips with a God that fits my own experience, which is, my God could not be offering protection and not have protected my boy.

Newsweek: You didn't lose your faith, you changed your faith? Or did you lose it for a time?

E. Edwards: I'm not praying for God to save me from cancer. I'm not. God will enlighten me when the time comes. And if I've done the right thing, I will be enlightened. And if I believe, I'll be saved. And that's all he promises me.

I appreciated her honesty about the real questions that she has wrestled with since her son's death. I can't imagine experiencing that sort of loss/pain. I was struck, though, by her assertion that God does not offer protection. Our world is so fallen and broken, but I do think that God promises to protect his children. What does his protection mean, then, when there is so much suffering and pain in our world? It clearly doesn't mean that Christians won't experience real pain and loss and the effects of sin. I think that it does mean, though, that he promises to always be there with us and that nothing will happen to us that he has not allowed (that has not come through him first and that he will not use for his good purposes in our lives). This must be a hard thing to believe if you've experienced the death of a child. Edwards says, "The hand of God blew him from the road." I don't think that I believe that or at least wouldn't use those words. I mean, I think that God allowed it to happen, but that it was a result of the fallen world and that Jesus was weeping over it. I feel like this is a somewhat insufficient response, but this is what's on my mind right. What are your responses to her comments? What do you think that God's promise of protection, to be our refuge, means? I feel like this is a huge topic to tackle, but I would appreciate any insights that you have.

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me and the snares of death confronted me. In my distress, I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him into his ears...He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Psalm 18: 1-6, 16-19

But the Lord is faithful and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
2 Thes. 3:3