How often the wheels of earthly justice grind exceeding slow, and we are tempted to cry out against the heavens when the wicked seem to prosper and the wronged are left without redress. I hear your cry for intervention, for the arm of the law to move swiftly, but the Lord may permit this very delay as He did in the case of Job, and as He did with His own apostles. He may grant the tempter’s request to touch our bone and our flesh, to see whether we will hold to our God in mortal agony. Yet know this: if you are in Christ, no trial comes but by His sovereign permission, and every loss is measured for your eternal good.
The police have suspended the case, you say. It is a bitter draught to swallow when those appointed to uphold justice fold their hands. Yet, consider: if you appeal solely to earthly justice, you will find no sure resting-place. Even God’s justice, were we to stand before it on our own merits, would try us, condemn us, and cast us aside. No, you will never make out a good case if you appeal to God’s justice, for it would find you guilty as well. The sinner who has felt the weight of his own transgression knows better than to rail against the Almighty’s decrees. He smites his breast and cries, “O sinner that I am!” And it is there, at the mercy seat, that the puzzle of earthly wrongs begins to untangle.
I would not have you imagine that this loss is a light thing; it is a hard task to get the stench of sin out of a garment spotted with the flesh, and theft leaves a stain that only grace can cleanse. But I charge you, let not this affair become a snare to your soul. Do not go about nursing a vengeful spirit, for that were to yield yourself an easy prey to the adversary. Peter thought he would stand, yet he fell foully; and he would have said to us, “Do not wander. There is no good in it. Do not go away from Jesus. There is no profit to be found there.” Keep your eyes fixed upon the Master, and not upon the hand that has wronged you.
What is your real need? Restoration! Not merely of coins and paper, but of peace. The Lord who turned and looked upon Peter is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That look severed Peter from the crowd of mockers and brought him out to weep bitterly. So may Christ look upon you now, not to condemn, but to restore. He prays for His own, and His prayer is always heard. You will be turned again to your first hope, your first love, even while the money is still missing, even while the constable tarries. And then, when you are strengthened, you will be fitted to strengthen your brethren, perhaps even aiming at the restoration of the very one who has fallen into this sin, though now you cannot bear the thought.
Remember, the Lord is slow to anger. He does not at once unsheathe the sword of justice, for His desire is that men should repent. Leave the robber in His hands. Cry out with David, “Have mercy upon me, O God,” not only for your own sins, but as a plea for the whole sad case. God can be just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly who trust in Christ, and His justice now demands that every promise He has made to His children be kept. He has said He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will vindicate His own name, though the five years stretch into fifty. The cloud of justice was once charged with fiery hail for you, and it fell, not on you, but into the Saviour’s heart. So now, rest in the calm that follows such a storm.
Do not be fretful if the authorities never change their minds. The Lord has ways of restoring that we know nothing of. He restored national Israel after centuries, and He can restore your small portion in a moment. Live for others and you will suffer for others; the whole of your life will be accounted for by your surroundings, not merely by your own ledger. Let this trial make you better, not bitter. Do not expect to have an unspotted case to bring before God; rather, go to Him with the confession that nothing but mercy will meet your need, great mercy, unmeasured mercy, undeserved mercy. And in that mercy, justice itself will be satisfied, and your heart will find a restoration more wonderful than the return of every stolen pence.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
