From a tract published by Pilgrim Tract Society

The Lord has given to every believing man his work. It is his business to do it, and the devil’s business to hinder him if he can. So sure as God has given you a work to do, Satan will try to hinder you. He may present other things more promising. He may allure you by worldly prospects. He may assault you with slander, torment you with false accusations, set you to work defending your character, employ pious persons to lie about you, editors to assail you, and excellent men to slander you. He may have Pilate and Herod, Annas and Caiaphas all combined against you, and Judas standing by ready to sell you for thirty pieces of silver; and you may wonder why all those things come upon you. Can you not see that the whole thing is brought about through the craft of the devil to draw you off from your work and hinder your obedience to God?

Keep about your work! Do not flinch because the lion roars; do not stop to stone the devil’s dogs; do not fool away your time chasing the devil’s rabbits. Do your work. Let liars lie, let sectarians quarrel, let the devil do his worst; but see to it that nothing hinders you from fulfilling the work that God has given you.

Your Lord has not sent you to make money. He has not commanded you to get rich. He has never bidden you defend your character. He has not set you at work to contradict falsehood which Satan and his servants may start to peddle. If you do these things, you will do nothing else; you will be at work for yourself and not for the Lord.

Keep about your work, the work God has called YOU to do. Let your AIM be as steady as a star. Let the world brawl and bubble. You may be assaulted, wronged, insulted, slandered, wounded and rejected; you may be abused by foes, forsaken by friends, and despised and rejected of men; but see to it with steadfast determination, with unfaltering zeal, that you pursue the great purpose of your life and the one object of your being. Then at last you can say with Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith;” or with your Lord Himself, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do!”