Avoiding the Snare of Distraction
Before you know it, you are exhausted. Your energy is spent, your focus is shattered, and that mission God gave you? It’s sitting on the shelf, gathering dust. You’ve been fighting, sure. You’ve been "working," absolutely. But you’ve been engaged in what I call unnecessary warfare. This is the trap of being busy in the spirit without being obedient to the Spirit. It is the subtle art of the enemy to get you to fight battles the Lord never asked you to step into.
We often think of spiritual warfare as a direct assault—demons in the night or blatant temptation. And while I talk about those things in my book Overcoming Night Terror, there is a much more subtle form of warfare: the distraction. If the devil cannot stop you from being a man or woman of God, he will try his dead level best to distract you. If he can get you to use your prophetic edge on things that don't matter, he has effectively neutralized you.
In this post, I want to look at why Jesus and the prophets were so "rude" to people on the way to their assignment. I want to show you the high cost of being "polite" when God told you to be "purposeful." If we don't learn to stay on mission, we might find ourselves like the young prophet in 1 Kings—sitting under an oak tree, right before the lion finds us. We are going to dive deep into the supernatural mechanics of staying the course.
Main Message
Imagine the scene. The sun is high over the hills of Israel, and the dust of the road is clinging to your sandals. You’ve just done the unthinkable. You stood before a king—King Jeroboam himself—and you delivered a word of judgment that made the very altar split apart. You didn't blink. You didn't waver. You even saw the king's hand wither and then be restored by the power of God through your prayer. You are walking in the high-octane power of the prophetic.
But you're tired. Your stomach is growling. You haven't eaten or had a drop of water because the Lord gave you a very specific, very odd instruction: For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. (1 Kings 13:9 KJV).
This is where the story gets gritty. The king tries to bribe you. He offers you a reward, a meal, a seat at the royal table. You turn him down flat. You’ve overcome the "big" temptation. You feel strong. You start the journey home by a different route, just like God said. But then, you find a nice, shady oak tree. You sit down for just a moment to catch your breath.
The Subtle Snare of the "Old Prophet"
While you’re sitting there, an older man approaches. He’s a prophet too. He tells you that an angel spoke to him and said you should come back to his house to eat. He looks like a mentor. He sounds like a brother in the Lord. He’s not a pagan king; he’s one of "us."
This is the moment where many of us fail. We think that because a suggestion comes from a "spiritual" source, it must be God. But the Bible tells us plainly that this old prophet lied to him. The young man of God listened to the man instead of the last clear word he had from the Lord.
I’ve seen this happen so many times in the prophetic community. Someone has a clear commission from the Lord—maybe it’s to start a ministry, to write a book, or to go to a specific person. Then, someone else comes along with a "word" that sounds more comfortable, more "reasonable," or just plain different. If you follow that distraction, you have entered into unnecessary warfare. You are now operating outside the perfect will of God, and that is a dangerous place to be.
The Urgency of the Mission
Why was the Lord so strict? Why did He tell Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, not to even say "hello" to anyone on the road?
Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. (2 Kings 4:29 KJV).
Think about that. In that culture, saluting someone wasn't just a quick "hey." It was a long, drawn-out process of pleasantries, inquiries about family, and social obligation. God was saying, "The child's life is on the line. I don't care about your social graces. I care about the commission."
Jesus said the exact same thing to the seventy when He sent them out: Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. (Luke 10:4 KJV).
There is a supernatural principle here. When you are on a mission from God, your "yes" to Him requires a "no" to everything else—even the "good" things. If you stop to salute every man on the way, you are engaging in a social warfare of obligation that drains your spiritual reservoir. You are using your "oil" on a conversation God didn't authorize.
I often talk about this in the context of Open Your Eyes My Supernatural Journey. When you begin to see the spiritual world, you realize that every interaction is an exchange. If you are supposed to be delivering a staff to a dead child (a spiritual breakthrough), every idle word you speak on the road is a leak in your power.
Use It or Lose It: The Prophetic Edge
I’ve often said that in the prophetic, it’s "use it or lose it." Now, don't get me wrong—God's gifts and callings are without repentance, but your commission can be given to someone else. If God gives you a word for someone and you get distracted by a Facebook argument or a "need" that God didn't tell you to meet, you are abusing the grace on your life.
If you don't use the prophetic correctly, God will find someone who will. He is looking for those who can stay focused in an age of infinite distraction. If you get distracted by the distraction—which is what I call the "LOL" of the enemy—you are playing right into his hands. He laughs because he didn't even have to send a "lion" to stop you; he just had to send a "friend" with a snack.
Personal Reflections
I’ll be honest with you; I have missed it more times than I’d like to admit. There have been times I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to go into deep prayer or to work on a specific podcast episode for ConradRocks.net, and then the phone rings.
"Hey Conrad, I really need to talk about this dream I had," they say.
Now, on the surface, that sounds like my "job," right? I love interpreting dreams. I love helping people. But if the Lord told me to be in the secret place, and I am on the phone for two hours, I have entered into unnecessary warfare. I end that call feeling drained, not because I helped someone, but because I was disobedient to the timing of God.
I remember one specific time I was supposed to be preparing for a meeting. I felt a "check" in my spirit to stay off social media. But, I thought, "I'll just check one notification." Two hours later, I was embroiled in a debate about some minor point of eschatology. I was "fighting for the truth," or so I thought. But the truth was, I was just being distracted. When I finally went to my meeting, the "edge" wasn't there. I had "saluted a man by the way," and my staff had lost its punch.
Jesus corrected me gently through the Word. He showed me that being "nice" is not a fruit of the Spirit; being "kind" is, and sometimes the kindest thing you can do for the world is to stay on mission so you have the power to actually help when you arrive. I had to learn that my time is not my own. My energy is not my own. It belongs to the One who commissioned me.
Biblical References
The narrative of the man of God from Judah in 1 Kings 13 is one of the most sobering stories in the entire Bible. It’s a story that highlights the absolute necessity of hearing God for yourself and sticking to it.
And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth–el. (1 Kings 13:7-10 KJV).
Notice how clear he was! He knew the word. He repeated the word. He even acted on the word initially. But the "unnecessary warfare" didn't come from the king. It came from the "old prophet" who lied to him.
He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. (1 Kings 13:18 KJV).
The result was tragic. Because he turned back, a lion met him on the road and slew him. He finished the task, but he didn't finish the mission. The task was the prophecy; the mission included the return journey.
We see the contrast in how Jesus handled distraction. When the crowds tried to keep Him in one place because He was doing great miracles, He didn't say, "Oh, well, they have needs, I should stay." No, He said: I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent. (Luke 4:43 KJV).
Jesus knew His commission. He didn't engage in the "warfare" of trying to please everyone. He moved when the Father said move, and He stayed silent when the Father didn't give Him a word. That is the level of focus we need to cultivate if we want to walk in the supernatural power of the Kingdom.
Key Takeaways
- Distraction is a Weapon: The enemy doesn't always try to make you "bad"; he often just tries to make you "busy" with things God didn't authorize.
- The "Old Prophet" Syndrome: Just because a "word" comes from a spiritual person doesn't mean it's God's current word for you. Always weigh everything against what the Lord has already told you.
- Social Obligations Can Be Snares: "Saluting no man by the way" means prioritizing the mission over cultural or social expectations of politeness.
- Unnecessary Warfare Drains Your Power: Engaging in battles, arguments, or tasks that aren't your assignment will leave you empty when you actually need your spiritual strength.
- Obedience over Sacrifice: It’s better to be "rude" and obedient than "nice" and dead in a ditch (metaphorically speaking).
Conclusion and Call to Action
Friend, the days are getting shorter and the spiritual climate is getting more intense. We don't have time to be playing games with unnecessary warfare. If God has given you a commission—whether it's to raise your children in the fear of the Lord, to start a business, or to walk in a prophetic office—you must guard your focus with everything you've got.
Don't let the "old prophets" or the "kings" of this world entice you off the path. Stay on the road. Don't eat the bread of distraction. Don't drink the water of "approval." Stay hungry for the will of God alone.
If this message resonated with you, I’d love to hear about it. Have you ever felt that "check" in your spirit to stay on mission, but you got distracted anyway? What did you learn? Leave a comment below or reach out to me at ConradRocks.net.
And if you want to go deeper into discerning the spiritual realm and avoiding the traps of the enemy, check out my books OPEN YOUR EYES My Supernatural Journey and Overcoming Night Terror. They are designed to help you see clearly in a world of shadows.
Please subscribe to the podcast and the blog to stay updated on how to walk in the supernatural power of Jesus.
Action Items
- Audit Your "Yes": This week, look at your calendar and your daily habits. Identify one "good" thing you are doing that God never actually told you to do.
- Practice the "Holy No": The next time you feel a distraction pulling you away from a God-given task, practice saying no immediately without feeling the need to over-explain.
- Revisit Your Last Clear Instruction: Go back to the last thing you know God told you to do. Are you still doing it? If not, stop everything else and get back on that path.
- Guard Your "Oak Tree" Moments: Be careful when you are tired or "resting" after a victory. That is when the "old prophets" usually show up with a lie. Stay alert even in the rest.
Would you like me to expand on any specific part of the "Prophet from Judah" story or perhaps dive deeper into how to discern a "lying word" from a fellow believer?
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