December 16

I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts—the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust—My great army that I sent against you. — Joel 2:25 BSB

A friend once said to me, “I must reap what I’ve sown, for the Bible says, ‘Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.’” But why don’t we apply this same logic in the spiritual world and make the sinner pay the penalty for their sins? Christ has borne that penalty for us, and not only for our spiritual sins but for the natural consequences as well. Physical sufferings may come, but they do not come as retribution. They are a form of divine discipline. Christ has fulfilled every law and penalty, and we, by His grace, are lifted into the realm of life where we are free from the law of condemnation.

So it’s true: even the wreckage sin has brought to our physical and temporal lives is restored by Christ’s atonement. As the promise says, “I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten.”