Do not grieve, nor trouble thyself, because thou askest for a day entirely free from problems. For it is impossible, being a man, to be always in joy, and equally impossible to pass through life without trial. You desire that no bad name should touch you in the office, and this is a natural wish; yet consider that even our Lord, when He saw the tears of Mary and the crowd, did not at once prevent the sorrow, but wept and groaned in spirit, deferring the miracle that a greater work might be done. Affliction has its season, and often God permits a small shame that we may learn to flee from the love of human praise and to cling to Him alone.
Remember that the Apostle Paul was comforted in all his tribulation precisely so that he might comfort others who are in any trouble. If your day brings a momentary sting of reproach or some small difficulty, do not think it is without purpose. God measures out these things as a physician dispenses medicine; they are not signs of His absence but of His fatherly care. You cannot always foresee what would do you good. If the prophets had foretold everything, the hearers would have slept; so, if you knew the shape of every hour, you would become careless. The unexpected trial keeps the soul awake.
When you fear a bad name, look to the table that God spreads before you even in the presence of those who trouble you. For nothing truly troubles a soul like its own passions, vain ambition, the craving for praise, the fear of men’s opinions. If you overcome these inward enemies at the very table of your daily duties, you set up a trophy greater than any worldly honor. The ill word of a colleague cannot wound a heart that is firmly fixed on the approval of God.
Be not uncandid, nor unthankful. Forget not the many days when no problem came, when your name was spoken well, when the office was peaceful. We so quickly remember one hour of trouble and forget a hundred hours of blessing. See, then, that you do not repine. The King has not yet clearly conquered every power in this world; we do not yet see all things put under Him. While we wait, it is no wonder that skirmishes arise. Behave as a soldier in his own house-camp: if you remain quietly at your post of faith, meekness, and diligence, not usurping the office of God to govern all events, order will be kept within, and no outward clamor can overthrow you.
Go forth, then, to your work. If trouble comes, it will not find you unarmed if you have first entrusted the day to Christ. Do not demand a day without any cross, but ask for a heart that, in the midst of trials, can still say, “Thou hast prepared a table before me.” That table is the comfort of His presence, the bread of patience, and the cup of salvation. With these, a bad name loses its sting, and every problem becomes a step toward the Kingdom.