What does “I don’t think God’s through with me,” mean?
I believe that Edwards is saying that God still has work for Edwards to do - presumably something to help children “in the poorest parts of this country.”
However, the phrase can also be construed to mean that Edwards is not a finished product - that God still has some work left to do on him to make him a better person. Many years ago at Vacation Bible School, I learned a little song:
We're kids under construction
Maybe the paint is still wet
We're kids under construction
The Lord might not be finished yet.
I can't answer your question about acceptance in countries/regions other than the US - but I can tell you that through with x is a widely-used construction in the US; it can mean
- finished using: Are you through with that wrench yet?
- finished working on: Are you through with your homework yet?
- disgusted with/tired of: I'm through with love. (Marilyn Monroe, Through With Love)
- terminating a relationship with: Jane says "I'm through with Sergio - He treat me like a rag doll" (Jane's Addiction, Jane Says)
There's also a closely-related (but not identical) idiom when I get through with x, which can mean:
- when I've finished working: I'll call you when I get through with my report.
- when I'm done beating/punishing (a person): When I get through with you, you'll wish you'd never been born.
- an ironic positive usage, based on the previous: You think you love Sue, but when I get through with you, you won't ever look at Sue again. (Patsy Cline, When I Get Through With You You'll Love Me True)
Finally, there is a similar but unrelated phrase to get through, meaning to arrive at a destination despite obstacles or interference: The message got through at last. If it's a messenger or a courier who arrives, s/he might be carrying something, and one might say that s/he "got through with" it: Balto and his team got through with the diphtheria antitoxin just in time. Again, however, this is an unrelated usage.
I think this refers to the notion that, when God wants you to be doing something (i.e, changing your behavior, or your direction in life, or getting serious about something), it's sometimes said that "God is working on me." So, if God has started working on you, but the turnaround is coming along rather slowly, you might say, "God is still working on me" – that is, you are still a "work in progress."
I think that's the sentiment being expressed here with "God isn't through with me yet." In other words, "God has started something, but there's still more work to be done."
The word "through" here can be interpreted as "finished" or "done" – as in, "God isn't finished with me yet."
I think that the notion of "God is working on me" is not quite what is meant here. The meaning is less about how God wants to change you, and more about the notion that God has a specific purpose in mind for you- You are destined to play a part in his grand scheme and your part has not yet been played. So God is not through with you- he still has more for you to do.
The interpretation "God isn't finished with me yet is right, but it's in the sense of using you as a tool. In the same line as if someone asks you, "Can I use that pen?" And you reply with, "No, I'm not through with it yet."
It can mean:
- God is not done changing me. This can imply further trials (not necessarily of the courtroom variety).
- God is still walking with me (through good and/or bad experiences).
- He has great things in store for me (to do).
In short, it can mean a lot of things and is, as the writer said "appropriately vague".