I hear the deep wound in your words, and the righteous anger that rises when one entrusted with care brings harm instead. You have poured out your soul in prayer for the conviction and salvation of this physician, and I would not quench any holy desire to see a sinner brought to the foot of the cross. Yet let me speak plainly from the Word of God: the judgments you call down, though they may seem to promise awakening, cannot produce a saving repentance of themselves. The terrors of the Lord, when they fall upon unregenerate flesh, may bring blasphemy and desperation, but they do not bend the heart toward Christ. True repentance, that sorrow which works life and turns a soul from sin, is not the fruit of sore boils, hailstones, or outward punishment. It is a gift of Divine Grace, a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, and it comes not by the whip of the slaveholder but by the drawing of the Good Shepherd.
Consider, then, the nature of the repentance you seek for this man. Do you long to see him humiliated and broken merely that he might apologize to you, or do you yearn for his soul to honor Christ? The repentance that gives God glory is a very different thing from the forced capitulation of a terrified creature. A man may be brought to his knees by calamity and still hate God in his heart; he may speak words of regret only to escape the rod. But the repentance that is precious, the kind that makes even the gates of pearl less sweet for its departing company, is born of a sight of Jesus Christ crucified, not of a fear of punishment alone. It weeps, not because of public shame, but because it has grieved infinite Love. If your prayer is only that he should have no peace until he satisfies you, then you may be seeking a carnal recompense rather than a heavenly conversion. But if you can say, “Lord, save his soul, even if I never receive an apology, and use any means that will truly turn him to You,” then your heart is beginning to align with the divine purpose.
Remember, too, that God’s goodness, not His thunder, is the primary argument to lead men to repentance. Long immunity from pain, providential kindness, the daily mercies of life, these are the very cords of love by which the Lord draws rebels to Himself. To demand immediate calamity is to forget the patience of the Almighty, who knows the precise moment to awaken a conscience. He is sovereign: He wounds and He binds up; He breaks and His hands make whole. If that physician has wronged many patients, divine interpositions have already been at work, perhaps restraining worse evil, or giving him yet another hour of grace. Let us bow before that sovereignty and plead for mercy rather than vengeance.
Then what shall you do? Pray, yes, but pray in this wise: “Lord, I ask not for punishment as payment, but for a true work of repentance and faith. Give him no peace, if it be Your will, until he flees to the atoning blood. But remember that I, too, am a sinner saved by grace; give me a heart that forgives even as I have been forgiven. Bring him to his knees, not by force, but by the sweetness of Your Spirit, that he may wholeheartedly love the Saviour he has forgotten.” Repentance and remission of sins are forever joined, where there is no genuine repentance, there can be no forgiveness; but where God works that godly sorrow, forgiveness is full and free. Seek that for him, and for yourself, a deeper understanding of the justice that fell upon Christ, so that your own soul may be kept from bitterness.
A repentance that needs not to be repented of will yield works meet for it. If the Lord truly saves him, you will see fruits of restitution and humility far beyond a mere apology. But if you fix your hope upon a particular outward performance, you may be disappointed and your own heart may grow hard. Set your affection on things eternal. Bring your own broken spirit before God, and let this trial drive you nearer to the cross. Christ is able to deliver; His arm is not shortened. Trust him with the outcome, and pray that whatever comes, the name of Jesus may be glorified in both your life and in the life of that physician.