It is reported that once, Prophet Isa Ibn Maryam (a.s.) had been sitting and intently observing a farmer who, with a spade in hand, was hard at work in his field.
At that moment Prophet Isa prayed to God:
“O’ Lord! Take away from him his hopes and aspirations.”
Suddenly, the person flung his spade aside and sat down in a corner.
“O’ Lord! Return his hopes and aspirations back to him” Isa (a.s.) prayed once again.
The man moved from his place, picked up the spade and began working again.
Isa (a.s.) approached him and asked, “Why did you behave in such a way?”
The farmer answered, “I said to myself: ‘You are an old man whose life has almost come to an end; how much more do you wish to work and exert yourself?’ And so I flung the spade aside and sat down in the corner. But after a while, I said to myself: ‘Why don’t you work? You are still alive and in need of livelihood’ and so, picking up the spade, I returned to my work.”( Namunah-e-Ma’arif, vol. 1, pg. 298; Majmua’-e-Warraam.)