I came onto the race thinking that it was very possible to get sick, but that God would want to keep us safe and protected. Keep us surrounded by a “hedge of protection” if you will. But it seems the opposite has happened. One girl had to stay back so she could go to the hospital and get pills to treat the staph on her leg. Another had bad diarrhea this morning and had to stay back. Some of the girls even think they have malaria. Most everyone on my squad has been sick at some point on the race. I’ve stayed in the hospital with teammates multiple times.
Where is this “hedge of protection” that I was expecting for God’s missionaries? I was thinking about this yesterday, and I felt like something finally clicked. Now, I don’t know if this is spot on or not; I haven’t researched it. I’m just writing out some thoughts.
We’re traveling to 11 different countries. Each country is filled with people whom God loves perfectly. Yet they have to struggle with these same sicknesses and setbacks. God loves them absolutely as much as he loves you or me. Why should we be given this protection when his children who live here aren’t shielded against it? We are told Jesus knows every affliction of man. He has compassion on them; He can relate. Is this a form of God’s sovereignty in helping us to relate and have compassion for his children around the world in a whole new way? Maybe.
So, I was talking this out with Meghan as we were showering just now. There are two concrete showers next to each other, and it’s almost become tradition for Meghan and me to take bucket showers at the same time and talk about life issues. She quoted a comedian who had said, “Why do people pray for a hedge of protection? Don’t they think the devil can just push over a hedge?” We weren’t trying to discredit this common prayer, but it made me think of ways that God has provided protection for his servants and what might be a better form of protection to pray for.
The first story that came to mind was that of Jonah. I told Meghan, “We should pray for a whale of protection.” She didn’t understand what I meant at first so I explained. God provided the whale to swallow Jonah. It protected him from the storm, and he was provided for while in the belly for three days. Not only that, when it spit him out, Jonah was right where God wanted him. Shoot! I want a whale of protection!
Something my dad wrote in an email to me back at the beginning of November really resonates with this. He said “This is the result of the devil’s inability to rule justly. Remember, he is the one who rules the world. Jesus Christ, our God controls history, but allows the freewill of the human race to live in absolute compatibility with His plan.” So, to tie all this together, I don’t want to encourage you not to pray for protection. I do know that God is sovereign and that he works together all things for the good of those who love him. We’re living in a broken world. But we are loved and we are growing.
