Jon Petts

Category: The Devil’s Playbook

  • Spiritual Defilement: The Enemy’s Tactic When All Else Fails

    Spiritual Defilement: The Enemy’s Tactic When All Else Fails

    Another Inside Job

    Over the past few weeks we have watched the enemy try to distract us from the mission, sow doubt in our hearts, pull us into the pit of despondency, and drive a wedge of division between us. Finally, we approach a topic none of us believes will happen to us: spiritual defilement.

    Before we look at our final tactic, let’s acknowledge that this list of five “D’s” is not exhaustive. The Devil’s Playbook is thick. We haven’t even touched on his plays of fear, which paralyses a leader’s potential; shame, which convinces us to hide from God; or guilt, which tries to anchor us to a past that Jesus has already forgiven. The enemy has a vast arsenal, but by learning how to spot the strategies in this series, you will develop the spiritual discernment to recognize the rest.

    Last week, we looked at division. That was our first look at an “inside job”—a strategy where the enemy uses our own people to crack the structure from within. But what happens when an organisation, a marriage, or a church is so focused, so faithful, and so united that they refuse to divide?

    The Playbook has one final, devastating internal play: defilement. I place this as a last resort, although it may not always be so. However, in the case study we’ll examine here, it was the enemy’s final weapon against God’s people who seemed impervious to being cursed. We’ll see how Balaam was unable to even speak against Israel, but he didn’t give up there. He infiltrated the ranks with defilement, dilution and desecration.

    If division is about cracking the structure, defilement is about rotting the foundation.To understand it, we can look at the strange, cautionary tale of Balaam the “mercenary prophet.”

    The Consultant Who Sold the “How-To”

    In Numbers 22–24, a Moabite King named Balak is terrified of the rising power of Israel. He does what many desperate leaders do: he hires a high-level consultant. He brings in Balaam, a famous Mesopotamian diviner, paying him handsomely to put a spiritual “hex” on Israel.

    But there’s a problem.

    Every time Balaam opens his mouth to curse Israel, God hijacks his tongue. In Numbers 23:11-12, Balak complains,

    “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!”

    Balaam tries three different times from three different mountains. Three times, the “external attack” completely fails.

    At this point, most stories would end with a victory. And as a preacher, this goes down well: You’re un-curseable! Whatever angle the enemy tries to hit you with his lies, he cannot win!

    But in the Devil’s Playbook, if you can’t defeat an enemy from the outside, you defile them from the inside. Balaam’s story doesn’t end here.

    Equally, the Devil is relentless.

    He won’t give up.

    But now we can see inside his playbook, we know what to do and he is fighting a losing battle.

    The “Balaam Counsel” – Spiritual Sabotage

    While Balaam couldn’t curse Israel with his words, he provided King Balak with much more dangerous counsel.

    The “secret sabotage” wasn’t fully revealed until Numbers 31:16 and if you think I’m pulling ideas from a random story buried in the Old Testament, you’re wrong. Later in Revelation 2:14, where Jesus Himself warns the church:

    “You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.”

    Balaam essentially told the enemy,

    “You can’t fight them on the battlefield; God is protecting them. So, just invite them to your parties. Send your women into their camp. Get them to compromise their standards. If you can get them to defile themselves, their God’s own holiness will force Him to deal with them.”

    It worked.

    In Numbers 25, Israel fell into a deadly plague at Peor because they traded their distinction for defilement.

    They cursed themselves.

    The Modern Balaam

    The enemy’s goal with defilement is to take what is “holy” (set apart for God) and make it feel “common” (just like everything else).

    The Balaam counsel rarely arrives as an outright demand to abandon your faith. Instead, it often sounds like an advisor assuring a Christian business owner that tweaking expense reports isn’t lying, but merely playing the game, convincing them they can have both God’s blessing and the tax loophole.

    In ministry and leadership, this counsel justifies toxic, cut-throat ambition under the guise of “holy hustle,” where leaders adopt ruthless, secular corporate structures to run a church under the delusion that the ends justify the means.

    In our personal lives, it manifests as the slow, gradual lowering of our standards regarding the media we consume or the gossip we entertain, all rationalized away as simply staying culturally relevant.

    In organisational leadership, this phenomenon is known as “cultural drift.” It is the slow lowering of the bar until your prophetic voice sounds exactly like the surrounding secular noise.

    Consider a modern parallel to Balaam’s strategy: a thriving, faith-based charity is offered a massive, multi-year grant by a secular corporate sponsor. The sponsor doesn’t ask the charity to renounce its faith, they merely suggest the charity “soften” the biblical language on their website and invite the charity’s leaders to a corporate gala that conflicts with their core ethical values, just to “keep the relationship strong.”

    Like the Israelites at Peor, the organisation is invited to the party, the boundaries are blurred for the sake of financial reward, and the foundation is quietly desecrated from within.

    We can see the devastating, macro-level effects of this drift when we look at our own history. Many of the most prestigious universities in the UK were originally built on a solid Christian foundation, established explicitly to train leaders and pursue truth through the lens of Scripture.

    Today, that foundation has been almost entirely lost. They weren’t conquered by an external enemy; they simply underwent centuries of slow dilution, trading their theological distinction for secular approval, academic funding, and cultural relevance until the original mission was completely forgotten.

    Three Vital Lessons from the “Outsider” Prophet

    Balaam’s life offers three stark warnings for modern readers about how defilement takes root:

    1. Gift vs. Fruit

    Balaam proves that you can possess authentic spiritual gifts, sharp intellect, and high-level skills without having spiritual character. Jesus warned in Matthew 7 that we would recognize false prophets not by their gifts, but by their fruit.

    This is a vital distinction because in business or ministry, we often mistakenly hire for “skill” (the gift) only to get fired for “scale” (the lack of character).

    The enemy loves a highly gifted leader with a hollowed-out heart.

    If you’ve ever had to work under a leader like this, you know exactly how hard it is. It creates a toxic environment, leading to constant frustration and ultimately pressuring you into doing things you know aren’t right, just to keep the peace and keep up the pace.

    2. Manipulation vs. Submission

    It is crucial to clarify that Balaam was not an Israelite. It can be tricky for modern readers to wrap their heads around someone completely outside the covenant “seeking God,” but as a recognised diviner, Balaam had genuine access to the unseen, spiritual realm.

    But he “sought God” not to find the truth, but to find a loophole.

    He repeatedly asked God if he could go with Balak, hoping God would eventually change His mind so Balaam could get paid.

    Although we are part of God’s New Covenant, nothing like Balaam in that way, there is still the temptation to treat God in a transactional way rather than coming to him in reverence.

    While we are sons and daughters and can enjoy beautiful intimacy with God, he is not there to be manipulated. True seeking is about aligning your will with God’s.

    “Balaam-style” seeking is negotiating with God until He gives you a “yes” for a bad idea, treating prayer as a business transaction rather than an act of submission. 

    3. The Mercenary Mindset

    The New Testament writers Peter, Jude, and John all remember Balaam as a man defined by greed. Jude 11 says they

    “have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error.”

    He was a mercenary who sold the “how-to” of deception to the highest bidder. 

    Ultimately, if your “book of business” or your ministry is built on profit at the expense of purpose and purity, you are running the Balaam play. You might get the “fee,” but you will inevitably lose the “foundation.”

    And when you lose the foundation, everything built on top of it is living on borrowed time. A business or life built on compromise will eventually collapse under its own weight. If we have skyscraper faith for a towering legacy that impacts nations and generations, we must first build on firm foundations.

    Putting profit and personal gain above God’s plan is no foundation for a lasting legacy.

    The only legacy Balaam left is being remembered for his error.

    A close-up shot of a businessman in a dark suit with a loosened tie, holding a glass of whiskey with ice at an evening event. He is looking down and listening intently to a female colleague with long wavy hair who is speaking to him closely. The background shows a dimly lit, upscale social gathering with blurred city lights.
    The Balaam Counsel in action: The enemy rarely attacks from the outside when he can subtly invite you to lower the bar from the inside.

    The Counter-Play: Protecting Your Distinction

    While we’ve seen above the errors Balaam made, it’s equally important to recognise how to stop the “slow defilement” and actively live out Romans 12:2:

    “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

    For me, it requires more than just good intentions. I need a structural “Firewall” around my soul and around any organisation I am part of.

    Here’s how:

    1. Audit the “Counsel” (The Voices)

    The Balaam trap relies on the voices you invite into your inner circle. If your primary advisors are people whose only metric is profit or speed, you will eventually mirror their values.

    Perform a quarterly audit of your “Kitchen Cabinet.”

    Are your closest advisors those who encourage you to hold the line of holiness, or are they subtly teaching you how to “seduce the system” for a quicker win? 

    If your council lacks a “prophetic check,” you are vulnerable.

    2. Identify the “Peor” Moments (The Temptations)

    “Peor” is rarely a mountain-top temptation. It is usually a mundane invitation to a “party” where you eventually feel comfortable trading your identity for acceptance.

    Map your week.

    Where are the moments you feel the internal pressure to “soften” your language, compromise your integrity, or blur your ethical boundaries to “keep the peace” or “win the contract”? These are your Peor moments. 

    Name them. Pre-decide your response so you aren’t negotiating in the heat of the moment.

    3. Seek His Face, Not His Permission (The Heart Posture)

    Let’s not treat prayer like a business transaction. “Balaam-style” seeking is trying to twist God’s arm into a “yes” for a bad idea.

    Adopt the “24-Hour Cooling Off” rule. 

    When a high-stakes opportunity arises that feels “grey,” refuse to act until you have spent a full, silent period in prayer without asking for a specific outcome. Let peace be your guide.

    Here’s a good prayer: “Lord, does this align with Your Kingdom, or am I building my own?” 

    If you find yourself hunting for loopholes in the Great Commission, you know you’ve stopped seeking His face!

    4. Build the “Firewall”

    Defilement thrives in the absence of structure. If you do not have a defined standard of “holiness,” you will be dragged down to the standard of the culture.

    Establish three non-negotiables for your life and work that you will never trade, even if the reward is massive. When you have a hard line, the enemy’s invitation to “just a little compromise” loses its power. 

    Examples of some of my “Firewall” non-negotiables:

    • I refuse to use over-exaggeration to win people over or to make things sound better in my life than they already are. If I can’t back something up with real experience or fact, I’d rather be honest than risk the credibility of the Kingdom I represent.
    • I keep a 24 hour Sabbath every week. That means anything that ‘feels’ like work is off-limits on that day. This builds a wall against the anxiety that drives “holy hustle” and reminds us that the world spins perfectly well without our constant intervention.
    • I won’t make promises I can’t keep. If it’s in the diary, it’s happening. If I’m unsure, I won’t guarantee my presence. When I do show up, it’s because I’m 100% available to be fully present. I won’t promise finance I don’t have. I won’t borrow money unless I know how I will pay it back.

    Maybe you have your own non-negotiables. These are just 3 of mine that came to mind as I write this. When you know where the boundaries are, you’ll know when you’ve crossed them! 

    Conclusion: The Race Marked Out

    We have completed our interrogation of the Devil’s Playbook.

    • Distraction tries to stop you starting.
    • Doubt tries to stop you believing.
    • Despondency tries to stop you feeling.
    • Division tries to stop you standing.
    • Defilement tries to stop you being holy.

    But remember the scripture we started with: We are not unaware of his schemes. 

    By identifying these “Ds,” you have already taken the first step toward victory. 

    You are a leader called to love God, love people, and make disciples. 

    You have the power of the Resurrection behind you.

    As we established in the introduction to this series, our ultimate counter-play to every one of these tactics is found in Hebrews 12:2: 

    “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” 

    STAY CONNECTED: Sign up to my mailing list, as the new book, The Devil’s Playbook, will be announced there very soon!

    About Jon Petts

  • Preventing Team Division: The Playbook for Conflict & Unity

    Preventing Team Division: The Playbook for Conflict & Unity

    The Tectonic Wedge

    In the previous parts of this series, we tracked the enemy’s progress through the noise of distraction, the whisper of doubt, and the pit of despondency. If those tactics fail to stop a leader or an organisation, the playbook may turn to a more structural attack. That attack is the slow, clinical process of division.

    Division is rarely an overnight explosion. Think of the character ‘Scrat’ from the Ice Age films trying to wedge a single acorn into a sheet of ice. That tiny pressure point eventually causes an entire tectonic plate to shift and moves continents.

    In our churches, families, marriages and businesses, team division operates in pretty much the same way. One small comment, one misinterpreted gesture, or one private moan in a corridor can cause a continental shift. The resulting fracture can take years to repair.

    A Case Study in Collateral Damage

    When my wife and I first moved to Liverpool as newlyweds, we were looking for a church to join. We found a wonderful, lively Pentecostal church to call home, but there was a bit of a shadow cast over what might have been a honeymoon period in our membership. The year we arrived, there had just been quite a split in the congregation.

    One of the elders had decided he possessed better ideas and a fresh way of thinking. He parted company with the church we had just joined and started up his own ministry in the same city. Apparently he had just taken eighty people with him, which was around a quarter of the congregation.

    Sometimes, splitting and planting is a healthy mechanism for growth. We need to be ready to let people go, start new branches or plants, expanding our reach. However, in this case, we watched that man’s church of eighty people quickly dwindle to nothing. This had not been one of those positive splits!

    Ten years later, we were still meeting individuals from that split who had ended up entirely disconnected from any community. They’d left with high hopes but ended up disappointed and damaged, spiritual casualties of an unnecessary church split that, honestly, served no one but the enemy.

    You may notice from this example that people didn’t leave the church over a negative event. They were looking for something positive, but found it to be a deception based on one man’s pride or delusion that he was called to start something new.

    The point is, not all division looks nasty at the start. That’s a key element in the enemy’s play – to masquerade as an angel of light (as Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 11:14), only to lead people away into darkness.

    Of course, not all fractures are wrapped in the shiny packaging of a “new calling.” While some division sneaks in disguised as a positive venture, a lot of it is far less subtle and far more messy. Often, the wedge is driven by plain old disagreement, bruised egos, and unchecked frustration. We see it in heated boardroom arguments over strategy, territorial squabbles over resources, or the sudden, icy silence between formerly close friends.

    Whether it is a loud church split, a cliquey corner in a staffroom, or a bitter family feud, division acts as a massive blessing blocker. Psalm 133:1 paints a beautiful counter-picture for us, declaring,

    “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

    The Psalmist goes on to say that unity is the specific environment where God actually commands His blessing. Therefore, when we allow discord to fester, we are effectively building a dam against the flow of God’s favour. In some cases, the original argument is often long forgotten, but the indoctrinated dislike remains.

    “Church Hurt”

    From the enemy’s perspective, a unified body of believers is a terrifying prospect. We have the potential to pull down strongholds and change the atmosphere of our cities. The devil knows our potential far better than we often do ourselves.

    If he cannot get us to doubt or despair, he will try to get us to disagree and isolate. Most division happens over things that are patently secondary to the Kingdom of God. We fall out over the length of the worship, the style of the leadership, or a perceived slight in the foyer.

    We frequently label this “church hurt”, but I believe we must be far more precise with our definitions. Often, what we are actually experiencing is the pain caused by just one or two individuals. We then project the actions of one flawed human onto the entire community and walk away from the whole church.

    Sometimes, a present offence simply triggers a deep, unresolved hurt from our past. In these moments, God is often acting as the master surgeon, allowing a wound to be exposed so He can finally heal it. Yet, instead of submitting to His gentle leadership, we pack our bags and leave.

    This isolation is exactly what the enemy desires. When we isolate ourselves from the flock, we become the stray sheep that the wolf can easily pick off. We must refuse the urge to simply “leave the chat” when relationships become difficult.

    The Danger of False Harmony

    Before we look at how to properly resolve conflict, we need to address a highly dangerous counterfeit: false harmony. False harmony is the illusion of unity achieved by simply avoiding conflict at all costs. It is an artificial peace that looks good on the surface but rots an organisation from the inside out.

    In the office, false harmony looks like everyone nodding in polite agreement during a staff meeting, only to instantly tear the decision to shreds in private the moment the door closes. I’ve heard this happen within seconds of leaving a meeting as staff members whisper in the corridor. They’d said nothing in the meeting but were willing to criticise the decisions in private. False harmony.

    In the church, it looks like smiling in the foyer, offering all the right spiritual buzzwords, while quietly harbouring deep resentment toward a fellow volunteer, or even the Pastor!

    This is entirely unhelpful because it drives a wedge of division underground. We frequently make the mistake of confusing keeping the peace with making peace.

    There is a difference between a peacekeeper and a peacemaker. A peacekeeper avoids friction, sweeping the dirt under the rug to maintain a comfortable surface. A peacemaker, however, is willing to step into the mess, address the tension honestly, and do the hard, uncomfortable relational work required to forge genuine unity. Jesus declared,

    “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9).

    He never promised a blessing for peacekeepers.

    The consequences of allowing false harmony to persist are severe. It breeds a culture of passive-aggression, it kills healthy innovation because nobody wants to challenge the status quo, and it slowly erodes foundational trust. Eventually, the pressure builds up under the carpet. This can result in an explosive, highly damaging split; at other times, it slowly causes the organisation to suffer, stagnating as people quietly leave for other jobs or churches.

    Ultimately, the underlying issues are never addressed, meaning nothing actually changes for the organisation or the person walking out.

    How do you detect it? Pay attention to the silence. I have heard it said that in a first-aid emergency, responders are taught to go to the quiet casualties first: they may be in far more danger than those crying out in pain. At least the noisy ones are alive and breathing!

    The same principle applies to our teams. If your team meetings feature no passionate, healthy debate, or if discussions only seem to happen in the car park after the official meeting has ended, you are likely dealing with false harmony. To deal with it, leaders can invite healthy friction. To do this, we can model vulnerability, explicitly asking our team for dissenting opinions, and demonstrate that disagreeing passionately on an issue does not equal a fracture in the relationship!

    Preventing team division: Two people sitting across from each other at a small table in a dimly lit coffee shop, leaning in for a private conversation
    A private, loving conversation solves ninety percent of divisions before they even start

    The Counter-Playbook for Conflict

    The ultimate counter-play to division is returning to the absolute bedrock of our mission. We are called to love God, love people, and make disciples. If an issue does not have an eternal consequence, it is merely a distraction used to fuel division.

    Before you engage in a dispute, you must ask yourself a sobering question. Will this matter in a month, in a year, or after I am dead? If the answer is no, we need to show some grace and choose to grow up!

    Jesus actually provided a clear standard operating procedure for conflict in Matthew 18. In an age of social media call-outs and toxic messaging groups, these rules are brilliantly counter-cultural. Here are five practical ways we can apply them to protect our unity.

    1. The direct and private approach

    The first step is always to go directly and privately to the person involved. This means no vague posts on Facebook and no whispered complaints in the corridor. A private, loving conversation solves ninety percent of divisions before they even start.

    My golden rule here is to never attempt this conversation over a text message or email, where tone is easily misinterpreted. Take them out for a coffee.

    Say, “Hey, when this happened, it made me feel this way. Can we clear the air?”

    Approaching them face-to-face with a posture of curiosity rather than condemnation de-escalates the tension immediately. It takes courage to look someone in the eye and be vulnerable, but it builds a bridge instead of a wall.

    2. Bring trusted peers

    If that private conversation fails to resolve the issue, bring one or two trusted, objective peers. This is never an opportunity to gang up on the individual. It is a fact-finding mission aimed squarely at restoration and understanding.

    Think carefully about who you bring into the room. Do not bring your best friend who already agrees with you – bring a peacemaker.

    In the New Testament, when the disciples were understandably terrified of the newly-converted Saul, it was Barnabas, the “Son of Encouragement” who stepped in to mediate and vouch for him (Acts 9:27). A good witness acts like Barnabas: calming the atmosphere, listening to both sides, and helping to find the common ground that you might be too emotionally invested to see.

    3. The wider counsel

    Only after these private and supported attempts have failed do you involve the wider community or leadership. The ultimate goal is always to protect unity at all costs. Unity is the specific environment where God commands His blessing, as we see in Psalm 133.

    We see a brilliant example of this in Acts 15.

    A massive theological disagreement was brewing that threatened to split the early church right down the middle. Instead of letting it fester in local gossip, Paul and Barnabas took it directly to the elders and apostles in Jerusalem.

    They debated it openly, sought the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and issued a clear, unifying decision. When an issue threatens the whole body, mature leadership must step in to establish boundaries and heal the breach.

    4. Spotting the smooth talker

    The Apostle Paul was ruthless about protecting unity within the early church. He warned the Romans to watch out for those who cause divisions by using smooth talk and flattery to deceive naïve people (Romans 16:17-18). In organisational leadership, you must be highly alert to the person who uses confidentiality as a weapon to spread backbiting.

    If you want a classic biblical example of this, look at David’s son, Absalom. He stood at the city gates, intercepted people who were bringing their problems to the king, and sympathetically whispered,

    “Your claims are valid, but unfortunately, there is no representative of the king to hear you” (2 Samuel 15:3).

    He used empathy as a weapon to steal the hearts of the people. In your team, watch out for the person who says, “I’m only telling you this because I care about you, but…”

    That is Absalom’s spirit, and it must be shut down immediately. Paul’s advice to Titus was blunt for a reason: warn a divisive person twice, then have nothing to do with them (Titus 3:10).

    5. Carry the burden

    Jesus said the world would recognise His disciples by their love for one another (John 13:35). This is not a soft, passive emotion, but rather a heavy-lifting, carrying kind of love. Galatians 6:2 commands us to carry each other’s burdens to fulfil the law of Christ.

    Consider the picture of Aaron and Hur in Exodus 17. When Moses became exhausted during the battle against the Amalekites, his arms dropped, and the Israelites started losing. Aaron and Hur didn’t critique his stamina or start a committee to replace him. They found him a stone to sit on and physically held up his arms until sunset.

    Carrying a burden is not sending thoughts and prayers from a safe distance. It means showing up at the hospital, helping someone move house, defending a colleague’s reputation when they are not in the room, or getting underneath a tired leader to lift up their arms.

    The Power of Alignment

    Our external witness

    Division achieves a double win in the enemy’s playbook. It splits the army, limiting the damage we can do to his kingdom, and it deters seekers from joining us.

    Why would anyone want to join a family that fights more fiercely than the world does?

    The late author Brennan Manning captured this tragic reality perfectly when he wrote,

    “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

    Brennan Manning

    When we allow division, backbiting, and unforgiveness to characterise our leadership teams and churches, we are doing exactly what Manning described.

    We might preach a gospel of radical love, grace, and reconciliation, but we completely deny its power when we refuse to speak to the colleague across the office, or when we split a community over a bruised ego.

    The world is watching how we handle conflict. If our relational fractures look exactly like the fractures in the secular culture around us, or worse, we completely strip our message of its credibility. Unchecked division doesn’t just hurt us internally; it actively sabotages our external witness.

    The Tangible Results of Unity

    However, the reverse of this is powerful. When we are truly united in purpose and love, the measurable impact is staggering.

    In Acts 4:24-31, facing severe threats and persecution, the believers didn’t scatter or bicker about strategy. Instead,

    “they raised their voices together in prayer to God.”

    Their unity was so profound, their singular focus so aligned, that the text says

    “the place where they were meeting was shaken.”

    That’s earth-shaking unity!

    A group of believers, entirely aligned with God and each other, becomes an unstoppable, foundational force.

    This principle of unity isn’t just a spiritual ideal. It translates directly into the world of business and organisation. Consider a company like Southwest Airlines, long famous for its relentless focus on employee culture and team unity. Their co-founder, Herb Kelleher, believed that if you treat your employees well and foster a fiercely loyal, united team, they will naturally treat the customers well.

    Even during catastrophic industry downturns, like the aftermath of 9/11 or the 2008 financial crisis, when other airlines were fracturing, striking, and laying off thousands, Southwest’s unity allowed them to remain profitable and avoid furloughs. Their internal unity wasn’t just a nice “perk.” It was their primary competitive advantage and the bedrock of their measurable success.

    Unity without proximity

    It is vital to understand, however, that true unity does not require geographical togetherness. You can be physically apart but entirely aligned in purpose.

    Both before we were married and recently, Andrea and I have had times when we were geographically separated for extended periods of time. But through phone calls and a common goal we were no less separated in our love for one another.

    Back in the book of Acts, when severe persecution broke out in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1-4), the believers were abruptly scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Yet, because they were deeply unified in vision, mission, and heart, this forced dispersion didn’t destroy the church; it multiplied it! They carried the gospel wherever they went because they were fundamentally anchored to one God, one Lord, one Spirit and one overriding commission. Even while fleeing for their lives, they remained tethered to the absolute bedrock of our mission: to love God, love people, and make disciples.

    We witnessed a modern parallel of this during the COVID-19 pandemic. Practically overnight, churches, charities, and businesses were forced into physical isolation. Yet, the most resilient communities proved that you do not need to share a post code to share a heartbeat.

    We saw exemplar practice among dispersed groups who, despite meeting strictly on Zoom screens, managed to have a profound, unified community impact.

    They organised coordinated food bank deliveries, established neighbourhood care rotas to check on the vulnerable, and interceded for their cities from their respective living rooms. The buildings were closed, but the unified body was fully deployed.

    When a church, a family, or a business team commits to doing the hard, messy work of staying united, whether standing shoulder-to-shoulder or logging in from different time zones, we become a city on a hill that cannot be hidden, an unstoppable force for good in our cities and workplaces.

    Your Takeaway

    Take a moment to honestly audit your own personal practice, leadership style and your team’s or family dynamics.

    1. Are you settling for the quiet danger of false harmony, or are you willing to step into the mess as a genuine peacemaker?
    2. When faced with friction, are you functioning as a wedge-driver, or are you stepping up as a burden-carrier?

    Don’t just listen to the loud complaints. Pay attention to the silence.

    Let’s consciously choose to be people who refuse to let the acorn of division shift the ground beneath our feet, and instead commit to the hard, world-changing work of true alignment.

    Drop an answer in the comments below: what is one step you can take this week to invite healthy friction or build genuine unity in your sphere of influence?

    Next week, we conclude this series with the final “D”: Defilement. We will explore how the enemy attempts to make the holy feel common.

  • Overcoming Despondency

    Overcoming Despondency

    In the previous parts of this series, we have unpicked the enemy’s tactics of distraction and the whisper of doubt. Now, we turn to a third tactic that is perhaps the most debilitating for any driven individual.

    That tactic is despondency.

    Defining Despondency

    Despondency can defined simply as,

    A state of low spirits caused by a loss of hope or courage.

    John Bunyan, in his classic work Pilgrim’s Progress, famously described this psychological state as the Slough of Despond. He described it as a treacherous, miry bog where “many fears, and doubts, and discouraging apprehensions” naturally gather and settle.

    Overcoming despondency like this takes more than a quick-fix pep talk or well-meaning platitudes from friends!

    In Bunyan’s allegory, this swamp is a deep, sticky quagmire that clings to the traveller and pulls them downward. The harder you try to fight your way out in your own strength, the faster you seem to sink into the mud.

    That’s exactly how despondency operates in our daily lives. It is a swamp of despair specifically designed to suck the momentum right out of us when we are already weary. It makes every single email, conversation, and decision feel impossibly heavy.

    The Anti-Climax Attack

    We naturally expect despondency to strike during our failures. Yet, surprisingly, it frequently ambushes us right after our greatest victories.

    Psychologists often refer to this as the “arrival fallacy” or the post-achievement slump, where the sudden drop in dopamine and adrenaline leaves us emotionally exposed.

    It is the Monday morning reality that follows the Sunday miracle.

    The Elijah Syndrome: A Case Study in Collapse

    One of the most vivid examples of this collapse is found in the life of Elijah. We find his story right after an awesome mountaintop victory.

    Elijah has just come from Mount Carmel, where he repaired God’s altar and witnessed a literal fire-from-heaven victory over hundreds of false prophets (1 Kings 18:16-39). He is at the absolute peak of his spiritual and professional authority. He has publicly championed truth and won a definitive battle against the cultural tide of his day!

    Then, a single message arrives from Jezebel, the king’s wife and fierce leader of the opposition. She sends a messenger with a direct and terrifying death threat.

    The Success Hangover

    This threat should not have even touched him. He had just seen the false gods that Jezebel worshipped proven to be completely impotent before the living God. Surely he was on top of his game, knowing God was with him, expecting to go from glory to glory, from one victory to the next, destroying more idols and turning Israel back to God!

    But “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life” (1 Kings 19:3).

    We can all experience an anti-climax after a great event. I remember first feeling it as a young person after a youth camp and then coming home to the mundaneness of normal life. We can feel it after an inspiring conference or a wonderful weekend. 

    This is normally shaken off and we move on. What I am talking about is a strategic attack of the enemy to bring us down from any mountain top experience with God.

    Some victories are exhausting. And when the adrenaline of a massive project or a hard-fought fight finally fades, we are left physically and emotionally vulnerable. The enemy understands our internal landscape perfectly and waits for the exact moment we are depleted to launch one of his most devastating counter-attacks.

    Three Mistakes We Make in the Swamp

    When we step into this miry bog of discouraging apprehensions, it is incredibly easy to lose our footing completely. When Elijah enters his own sudden season of despondency, he makes three tactical errors.

    These are the exact missteps the enemy hopes we will replicate when our own energy fails in the swamp.

    The Flight into Isolation

    First, Elijah travels a vast distance to Beersheba and deliberately leaves his servant there. He then journeys another full day into the harsh wilderness entirely alone (1 Kings 19:3-4).

    This is a classic play. The enemy desperately wants to separate us from our trusted companions. If he can isolate us in the wilderness, he can amplify his lies without any helpful fact-checking from a peer.

    We are explicitly told in scripture that “as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17). When we enter the swamp alone, we lose that vital friction that keeps our perspective clear and our faith sharp. Without a trusted friend to challenge our descending thoughts, the enemy’s whispers suddenly sound like objective truth.

    This is precisely why Jesus never sent his disciples out on solo missions. When he commissioned his followers, he intentionally sent them out “two by two” ahead of him (Mark 6:7). He knew that sustainable ministry and emotional resilience require the safety net of shared burden and close proximity.

    The Comparison Trap

    Second, Elijah collapses under a broom bush and prays for his life to end. He cries out, “I have had enough, Lord… Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors” (1 Kings 19:4).

    Elijah’s complaint about his ancestors reveals how despondency feeds on a distorted view of our own history. Very often, this comparison trap is deeply rooted in what we grew up believing about ourselves. We unconsciously replay the limiting narratives that our parents or early authority figures imposed upon us.

    When our energy crashes, these old scripts resurface and convince us we are just as small as those early voices claimed. We see this debilitating habit throughout scripture. When called to deliver his nation, Gideon immediately protested that his clan was the weakest and he was the least in his family (Judges 6:15).

    Similarly, Saul famously downplayed his worth when first approached to be Israel’s king. He protested that he was from Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and that his clan was the absolute least among them (1 Samuel 9:21). This crushing insecurity eventually caused him to literally hide among the baggage during his own public appointment (1 Samuel 10:22).

    The enemy uses exhaustion to make us abandon God’s calling and fixate on our own perceived inadequacies. We end up feeling like utter imposters, completely ignoring the overwhelming evidence of the previous day’s victory.

    Seeking God in the Past

    Finally, Elijah retreats to Mount Horeb, also known as Sinai, the place where Moses famously met with God. It was a special, historic location, but it belonged to a previous season.

    Retreating to the past is a bit like reaching out to an old flame while on a painful emotional rebound. It might feel familiar and temporarily comforting, but it is a highly unhealthy basis for moving forward! When we are feeling despondent, we often desperately try to recreate an old spiritual or professional experience.

    We see this same instinct in the Apostle Peter just after the trauma of the crucifixion. Before fully understanding his new commission, Peter immediately defaults to what he knows best and goes back to his old fishing boats (John 21:3). He sought the comfort of a previous career rather than stepping boldly into the risen Lord’s new plan.

    Looking backward is always a dangerous posture when God is actively calling you forward. Consider the tragedy of Lot’s wife, who famously looked back at her city instead of fleeing to safety (Genesis 19:26). She was reluctant to leave behind a life that God had clearly declared was over.

    Her tragedy was an unwillingness to trust the brighter future lying in God’s direction. Elijah makes a similar error by retreating to the mountain of Moses, hoping to find God exactly where He used to be. Instead of looking backward, we must learn to listen closely for where He is moving right now.

    The Gentle Whisper: Theology Meets Psychology

    God’s response to Elijah’s collapse is a masterclass in restorative leadership. He does not begin by giving the exhausted prophet a stern motivational speech or a theological reprimand. Not yet. Too soon for that.

    The Power of Physical Provision

    Instead, God begins with physical provision. He sends an angel to provide freshly baked bread and a jar of water, instructing Elijah to eat and sleep (1 Kings 19:5-8).

    My dad was a pastor for many years, and I remember him telling a story about counselling a man who seemed deeply depressed. During their conversation, dad felt a nudge to simply go and buy the man a portion of fish and chips. It is a good old British traditional fast food, but in this instance, it worked a genuine miracle!

    Almost immediately after eating, the man perked up completely. It turned out the immediate problem was not a massive spiritual attack, but simply low blood sugar. While we must absolutely acknowledge that clinical depression is rarely fixed this simply, it highlights a crucial point.

    Sometimes the most important thing a despondent person can do is to take a nap and eat a proper meal. We can never fully separate our spiritual resilience from our physical exhaustion.

    Asking the Right Question

    Once Elijah has rested, God asks him a simple, piercing question. He asks, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9).

    In her book Time to Think, Nancy Kline discusses the power of an “incisive question”. This is a carefully crafted question designed to remove limiting assumptions and free the mind to think clearly. God delivers a great incisive question here, cutting right through the prophet’s exhaustion to the root of his despair.

    It was the perfect question because it bypassed all of Elijah’s impressive history and went straight to his current reality. It gently forced him to recognise that a dark cave was no place for a national leader. It demanded that he justify his retreat into isolation.

    God allows him the space to simply let it all out. Elijah’s response is factually inaccurate, as he dramatically claims he is the only faithful person left in the entire nation. Yet, God patiently lets him vent his frustration without immediate correction.

    If we do not let out how we feel in a healthy way before God, we will inevitably act it out in an unhealthy way before others.

    Perhaps “What are you doing here?” is exactly the question we need to confront today. Are we currently hiding in a cave of our own making, completely off the path of your calling?

    We all need to ask ourselves who in our lives has the relational freedom to ask us something so piercing. We all need trusted peers who possess the Spirit-led wisdom to ask us the very best questions. If you do not have someone who can call you out of the cave, finding that person should become your immediate priority!

    A Shift in Methodology

    God then sends a powerful wind, a terrifying earthquake, and a blazing fire. Elijah naturally expects God to be in the big, loud displays of power, just like the fire he witnessed on Mount Carmel. But no, God was not in those manifestations this time.

    After the chaos subsided, God spoke through a “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12). God was changing His methodology, pointing towards a new covenant where his presence would become an internal reality. He was teaching the weary prophet that true authority does not always require a loud, external spectacle.

    Fast forward to the New Testament, and we see this methodology completed in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Consider the Apostle Peter, who we previously saw retreating to his old fishing boats in defeat. Once filled with the Spirit, that same fearful fisherman stood up and preached to thousands with unprecedented, world-changing boldness (Acts 2:14).

    We desperately need that same Holy Spirit to help us through our own seasons of despondency. Sometimes He will suddenly arrive like a mighty rushing wind to completely shift the atmosphere of our lives. At other times, as the famous hymn beautifully asks, we simply need Him to “speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire, O still small voice of calm.”

    The Antidote: Go Back the Way You Came

    God’s divine plan always involves moving us from the pit of self-pity back onto the path of our calling.

    The final instruction given to Elijah is perhaps the most challenging step in his recovery. God tells him to “Go back the way you came” (1 Kings 19:15).

    God’s plan for our despondency is always restoration, but that restoration usually involves returning to our God-given purpose. He tells Elijah to go back and actively anoint the next generation of leaders. He gently moves Elijah from the pit of self-pity back onto the path of the broader plan.

    The Counter-Playbook for Despondency

    To combat this slough of despond, we must consciously build a counter-strategy. Here are four practical ways to navigate your way out of the swamp.

    1. Refuse the Urge to Isolate

    We must refuse the urge to isolate ourselves when the anti-climax hits. We need to stay close to the people who have faithfully journeyed with us and seen God’s hand in our lives.

    2. Feed on Truth Consistently

    We must feed on truth consistently. We cannot merely use scripture as a temporary bandage when we are hurting. We must absorb it daily so it is already in our system when the inevitable threats arrive.

    3. Be Willing to Accept Help

    We must also be willing to accept help from those around us. In Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, it is actually a character named Help who physically pulls Christian out of the murky swamp. We must never be too proud to accept practical assistance or professional support when we are sinking.

    4. Face Your Emotions Honestly

    We need to face our emotions rather than faking our composure. God did not correct Elijah’s moaning, but He did direct his path forward. Even Jesus was brutally honest about his emotional torment in Gethsemane, proving that vulnerability is not a lack of faith.

    We Are Here to Win

    Elijah was a human being just like us, experiencing incredible mountaintop highs and devastating lows. The enemy wants to keep us trapped in the pit, believing that our calling has vanished simply because our emotions have crashed.

    But God is the ultimate restorer of the broken and the burnt out. If you find yourself stuck in the Slough of Despond today, remember that you do not need a spectacular fire or a dramatic earthquake to find your way out. You simply need to pause and listen closely for that still small voice of calm.

    He is not finished with you yet. He is likely saying to you right now to eat, rest, and get back on the path. He has so much more for you to do.

    Your Takeaway

    Prevention is always better than cure when dealing with the Slough of Despond. Even if you are feeling completely energised right now, it is vital to have your defensive playbook ready.

    I would love to know how you are putting this into practice. Drop an answer in the comments below and let me know which of the four counter-plays you will engage with this week.

    Next time, we look at the fourth “D” in the playbook: Division. We will explore how the enemy attempts to turn our greatest strengths against ourselves.

    Who is Jon Petts?

  • Navigating Doubt

    Navigating Doubt

    I have a confession to make.

    During my formal training for the ministry, I went through a profound season where I genuinely doubted the very existence of God. I was actively preparing for a lifetime of Christian service, studying theology, and yet internally wrestling with the terrifying thought that the God I was preparing to serve might not even be there – navigating doubt was not on my agenda!

    Questioning God’s existence felt like a bit of a taboo to say the least. However, I have since realised I was far from alone in that wilderness.

    (This is the third instalment of The Devil’s Playbook. If you have not yet read the other posts , you can find part 1 here.)

    Why your doubt might just be a vital sign of spiritual health

    Openly acknowledging doubt is actually a vital sign of spiritual health, provided we allow it to process itself into faith. It is way better than bottling it up, pasting on a fake smile, and presenting a false self to the world.

    As my dad often preached, if there were no room for doubt, there would be no need for faith.

    Faith and doubt are frequently two sides of the same coin. Doubt is not always a grand, intellectual crisis concerning God’s existence. Often, it is much quieter.

    It is wondering if God will actually come through for you in a specific crisis. We find ourselves doubting his goodness, his faithfulness, or his active presence in our daily lives.

    These moments of friction are frequently used by God to strengthen our resolve, build our character, and teach us some lessons about dependence. 

    Sometimes, it feels as though God is playing hide-and-seek simply to get us off our backsides and compel us to seek his face with genuine urgency.

    When doubt becomes a weapon

    There is a critical tipping point where doubt ceases to be a spiritual workout and becomes a weapon formed against us. 

    A 2023 study by Barna titled ‘Doubt and Faith’ revealed that exactly half of all adults with a Christian background experience a period of prolonged doubt.

    The enemy uses this extended time in the wilderness not merely to provoke philosophical questions, but to systematically separate us from our spiritual foundations. 

    This modern iteration of doubt is rarely just an intellectual exercise. It is deeply relational and institutional.

    The same Barna research highlights that for those who eventually distance themselves from their faith communities, the primary driver is the perceived hypocrisy of religious people, a factor cited by 42 percent of respondents. 

    When past institutional hurts are weaponised in our minds, the result is a quiet exit that isolates us from our communities and ultimately silences our prayer lives.

    In the Devil’s playbook, the goal of doubt is never to make you a critical thinker. The goal is to make you a deserter.

    Doubting God’s existence

    Questioning whether God is actually real rarely begins with a dramatic spiritual crisis or a sudden theological u-turn. Instead, it manifests as a gradual erosion of our worldview, heavily influenced by the environments in which we operate.

    Secularism

    When our primary daily inputs, from business strategies to social media feeds, are entirely secular, the concept of a supernatural God can quickly begin to feel like a childish myth. This gravity of secular thinking pulls constantly at our perspective.

    Suffering

    This intellectual friction is compounded by the reality of suffering. Facing profound loss, injustice, or even the sudden collapse of a life’s work creates severe logical dissonance. When we encounter deep pain in our own lives, the natural human response is to ask how a good and powerful God could possibly allow it to happen.

    Scientism

    Add to this the modern overemphasis on scientism. This is the assumption that if something cannot be quantified in a spreadsheet or proven in a laboratory, it simply does not exist. Under this weight, the foundation of faith can easily begin to crack.

    Spinning

    Ultimately, this intellectual brand of doubt leaves us with a moral compass that appears fixed but is actually spinning freely. Without an eternal framework to anchor us, our decision-making becomes entirely bound to short-term consequences. This mindset is a fast track to personal hopelessness.

    A vintage brass compass resting on modern business documents on an office desk.

    Doubting God’s character

    The second play the enemy runs is far more intimate than intellectual scepticism. It is an attack on God’s character, a phenomenon we might call the Thomas complex.

    The Thomas complex

    We often label the biblical disciple as ‘Doubting Thomas’, but that is perhaps a bit unfair. Thomas was not a cynical, modern atheist, but a deeply wounded follower. He had invested three years of his life into following Jesus, only to watch his hope publicly die on a Roman cross.

    When the other disciples excitedly claimed Jesus was alive, Thomas did not necessarily doubt the theological possibility of a resurrection. More likely, he was simply too heartbroken and exhausted to risk believing it had actually happened. His demand to see the physical nail marks was not a scientific inquiry, but a psychological defence mechanism against further devastating disappointment (John 20:25).

    I know you see this too.

    Consider the dedicated person who has poured years of prayer and integrity into a project, only to watch it collapse unexpectedly. Think of the individual who prayed earnestly for a family member’s healing, only to be met with a tragic outcome.

    In these dark moments, the enemy rarely tries to convince us that God is a myth. Instead, he whispers that God is indifferent, distant, or perhaps simply not as good as we previously thought.

    Disillusionment and neglected disciplines

    This deeply relational doubt usually stems from a disillusionment with some unwritten internal script, as we all carry a mental narrative of how a faithful, blessed life ought to play out. It is a subtle contract we create. We tell ourselves that if we work hard and pray often, God will ensure our success and safety.

    When God does not follow our script, when we face unexpected delay or crushing despondency, we are tempted to question his character. We can subtly begin to doubt his love and his power.

    This drift is accelerated when we neglect our spiritual disciplines. When our prayer life slips and we stop immersing ourselves in scripture, we lose the familiar sound of God’s voice. It is exactly like losing touch with an old friend, where the longer you go without speaking, the easier it is to misinterpret their silence.

    In that quiet void, the enemy’s whisper suddenly sounds much louder and far more authoritative. As a result, we stop praying for breakthroughs and start praying merely for survival. 

    The good news is that, like with a true friend, you can be away for ages and easily pick up where you left off!

    Doubting your own identity

    In the Devil’s Playbook, perhaps the most subtle play in the chapter on doubt is the attack on your identity. The enemy does not always need to convince you that God is unapproachable. He only needs to convince you that you are unqualified to approach Him.

    The trap of self-focus

    In many ways it is entirely healthy to doubt our own flesh and to have zero confidence in our human strength. But for the believer, the enemy distorts this healthy humility into a toxic lie about our standing in Christ.

    Many of us end up circling a drain of self-doubt, constantly seeking reassurance of our own spiritual worth or seeking validation from others. We tell ourselves that we would love to experience more of God, but we simply do not cut it spiritually. We allow the shadow of our past mistakes to dictate our present reality, assuming that if we keep remembering our sins, God must be remembering them too.

    When we focus obsessively on our own weakness rather than Christ’s strength, our prayers devolve into whimsical wishing. The devil effectively waters down our power by making us the centre of the conversation. 

    If your primary focus is on how flawed you are, you are fundamentally failing to focus on how good he is.

    The antidote is revelation

    The answer to this crippling self-doubt is not an injection of modern self-confidence or a better self-image, but revelation. In his letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul prays for something highly specific for the early church. 

    He does not pray for their difficult circumstances to change.

    Instead, he prays that,

    the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you 

    (Ephesians 1:18, NIVUK)

    Self-doubt becomes completely irrelevant when you realise your standing is based on His gracious invitation, not your flawless application. Paul also uses a string of superlatives to describe the incomparably great power available to those who believe.

    It is the exact same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him far above every rule, authority, and dominion. 

    When you finally see Jesus for who He is, seated in ultimate authority, your self-doubt becomes an absurdity. You are no longer operating on your own fragile credentials, you are operating on his. After all, you are seated with him (Ephesians 2:6)!

    Expecting a Return on Prayer

    The writer of Hebrews tells us that anyone who comes to God must believe two fundamental things. The author states that

    anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

    Hebrews 11:6 NIVUK

    Sincere prayer always expects a result.

    A farmer is not content with merely planting seeds, but waits to reap a harvest. Similarly, a marksman observes carefully to see whether his bullet hit the target, and a physician actively examines the patient to measure the effect of the medicine.

    Yet, in our spiritual lives, doubt often conditions us to adopt a ‘fire and forget’ mentality. We pray out of obligation, walking away before the words have even left our lips. If we truly believed he was a rewarder, we would stay at the door, knocking persistently until it opened.

    Help my unbelief

    Nowhere is the messy, beautiful reality of navigating doubt captured more perfectly than in the Gospel of Mark. In chapter nine, we find a chaotic scene where a desperate father has brought his deeply afflicted son to Jesus’ disciples (Mark 9:14-29). The disciples have tried and failed entirely.

    The boy is suffering, the religious leaders are arguing, and the father is watching his last shred of hope evaporate. When Jesus arrives, the exhausted father approaches Him. His opening plea is not a declaration of unwavering, triumphant faith, but a statement saturated in the trauma of repeated disappointment.

    He looks at Jesus and pleads, 

    But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us

    Mark 9:22 NIVUK

    Jesus replies, throwing the caveat right back at him. 

    ‘”If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes”

    Mark 9:23, NIVUK

    I am so glad the father does’nt try to muster up a false sense of spiritual bravado to impress the Rabbi. Instead leans into radical, vulnerable honesty. Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, 

    I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!

    Mark 9:24 NIVUK

    Is this perhaps one of the most profound prayers recorded in scripture?

    The father acknowledges the genuine belief in his heart, while simultaneously confessing the crushing weight of his doubt. 

    He admits that his faith is fractured, battered by the reality of his son’s suffering, and the recent failure of the disciples.

    This story is a lifeline

    Jesus does not scold the man for his theological struggle or demand that he go away, purify his thoughts, and return with a perfectly unblemished mindset. 

    Jesus accepts the fragile fragment of faith the man offers and steps into the gap to provide the rest. He turns and performs the miracle, healing the boy completely.

    This narrative is a lifeline for any of us navigating a season of uncertainty, proving God is not intimidated by your “What ifs.” He is not repelled by faith that has been bruised by the realities of life, business, or institutional failure. He simply asks for honesty.

    If you find doubt hovering in the background today or even facing you head on, be completely honest about it. Speak your “help my unbelief” out loud and do not let your questions silently harden into a wedge that separates you from your calling. 

    Let us get before God this week, ask him to enlighten the eyes of our hearts, and fully expect the power of the resurrection to move precisely within our messy, ordinary lives.

    Next week, we look at the third “D” in the Devil’s Playbook: Despondency. We will explore the unique dangers of the “long wait” and discover practical ways to recover your spirit when the breakthrough seems delayed.

    Who is Jon Petts?

  • Overcoming Spiritual Distraction

    Overcoming Spiritual Distraction

    The Ice Cream Strategy

    Andrea and I learned early on in parenthood that distraction is a masterful child management tool. If you have ever tried to navigate a public park with a toddler, you will recognise this scene, which has its parallels in the realm of spiritual distraction.

    (This is the second instalment of The Devil’s Playbook. If you have not yet read the foundational audit on how the enemy operates, you can read part 1 here.)

    Scenario A

    Child: “I want an ice cream.”

    Mum: “You cannot have one, you have just had a big chocolate pudding. You will be sick.”

    Child: “Please? Just one?”

    Dad: (Tuning in late) “Er, no. Ice cream makes you… fat?”

    Child: “Has Daddy had an ice cream?”

    In this scenario, logic is failing. The “target” (the ice cream van) remains firmly in the child’s sights.

    Scenario B

    Child: “I want an ice cream.”

    Mum: “Oh look! There is a slide and some swings!”

    Dad: “I wonder how high I can push you on that swing!”

    Child: (Eyes shifting) “Swing!”

    By the time the child is flying through the air, the ice cream van is a distant memory.

    Distraction Definition:

    A distraction is any thing, action, or state that diverts attention away from a primary task, goal, or focus, often resulting in diminished productivity or mental confusion.

    In parenting, we use it to steer children away from unhealthy options. But in the spiritual realm, the enemy uses it to steer us away from our destiny.

    The Anatomy of a Distraction

    There are always two elements involved in this “play”:

    1. Your Desired Focus (for example, your Kingdom mission, health, or deep relationships).
    2. An Undesired Focus (for example, the doughnut shop next to the gym).

    As adults and professionals, we rarely grow out of this.

    We are constantly tempted by things that bring quicker, shallower results. God has plenty for us to focus on, but much of it reaps rewards we cannot instantly see. Our spiritual enemy, however, has a playbook full of “instant” distractions intended to throw us off course altogether.

    What is the Desired Focus?

    Our ultimate role as believers is to love God, love people, and make disciples. If I were to distil that role down even further, it is summed up perfectly by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount:

    “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…”

    Matthew 6:33, NIVUK

    Note that Jesus says “Seek first”. There is not a “second”. For everything else in your life, you have two options: put it second or throw it out altogether. Or make an idol of it.

    There is an old joke about a man who pleaded with God to bring his gold to heaven; when he arrived, Saint Peter looked inside the man’s bag and asked why he had brought a lump of pavement.

    The only things of eternal value are those done with a seeking-first-the-kingdom attitude. Everything else is a distraction.

    The Forensic De-clutter

    What does seeking the Kingdom first actually look like in a professional or personal life?

    Here are some examples:

    • Decision Making: Every choice runs through a filter: What will honour God best?
    • Career Choices: A house move or job change is less about the salary and more about the “Kingdom fit”. Is there a solid church nearby? Does this job sacrifice my godly commitments?
    • Family: Success for your children is not measured by exam results or high paying jobs, but by whether they have a heart to serve God.

    Your spirit agrees with this as you read it. But your flesh, the untamed part of your nature, might be making excuses. This is exactly where the enemy’s playbook opens.

    The Three Hooks of Distraction

    In 1 John 2:16, we are given three categories of distraction that the world and the enemy use to hook us:

    For everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, comes not from the Father but from the world.

    1 John 2:16

    This is one of those verses we might skim over, or just see as a list of bad practices. But it holds a powerful key to understanding temptation and distraction, because we see these three mechanisms at play in the Garden of Eden during the first ever sin, where it all started. And amazingly, we also see Jesus face and defeat these parallel hooks during His temptations in the wilderness.

    At the core of every hook is an attack on identity, tempting us to forget who we are and what we already possess in God.

    Let us unpack how these ancient traps operate today.

    1. The Lust of the Flesh (Physical Cravings)

    This hook is about making yourself feel good without including God. It is the “counterfeit blessing.” It is the urge to satisfy a legitimate physical or emotional need in an illegitimate or impatient way, often by forgetting our identity as fully provided-for children of God.

    “The woman saw that the tree was good for food…” (Genesis 3:6, NIVUK).

    Eve was surrounded by a paradise of permissible food, yet the serpent planted a seed of doubt about God’s provision. Her physical appetite for this one forbidden thing was awakened. She forgot her identity as someone who already possessed everything she needed and chose to bypass the clear boundary God had set for her protection.

    Consider the story of Esau in Genesis 25. He came in from the fields completely exhausted and famished, saying to his brother Jacob,

    “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (Genesis 25:30, NIVUK).

    Driven entirely by his immediate physical craving, Esau forgot his identity as the firstborn heir. He swore an oath,

    “selling his birthright to Jacob” (Genesis 25:33, NIVUK),

    trading his entire future inheritance and spiritual blessing for a single, temporary bowl of soup.

    Looking to Jesus in Matthew 4, we see a completely different response to physical desperation. After fasting for forty days, He was genuinely starving. The devil approached Him with a direct attack on His identity:

    “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (Matthew 4:3, NIVUK).

    The enemy challenged Him to use His divine power to satisfy a legitimate physical craving outside of God’s timing. Jesus knew exactly who He was. He refused the counterfeit blessing, choosing to trust the Father for His provision rather than catering to His flesh.

    In the professional world, this manifests as greed, power plays, or taking shortcuts to satisfy an emotional craving for success or security. It is the leader who completely sacrifices their marriage and physical health to hit a quarterly target, trading foundational blessings for a temporary bowl of professional validation.

    When we feel the pull of the flesh, we must fix our eyes on Jesus. He reminds us that our identity is not found in our immediate comfort or success, but in trusting the Father for our daily bread and long-term sustenance.

    2. The Lust of the Eyes (Instant Appeal)

    This hook involves the quick-fix solution that ignores long-term consequences. It is surface-level satisfaction and the temptation to acquire whatever looks appealing in the moment, rather than waiting for what God has promised.

    “…and pleasing to the eye…” (Genesis 3:6, NIVUK).

    The narrative in Eden continues by highlighting the visual allure of the fruit. The serpent used this superficial, aesthetic appeal to distract Eve from the deadly reality of God’s warning. The sheer visual temptation overrode her memory of the consequences. She saw something shiny and new, forgetting the boundless beauty of the garden she already inhabited.

    In Genesis 13, Abraham and his nephew Lot realised their herds were too large to share the same land. Abraham gave Lot the first choice of territory. Lot

    “looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan towards Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord” (Genesis 13:10, NIVUK).

    Lot chose based entirely on immediate visual appeal, completely ignoring the deeply corrupted culture of Sodom that came attached to it. He lost sight of his identity as part of Abraham’s chosen family line, a choice that ultimately cost him everything.

    Fast forward to the wilderness, and we see the enemy attempt a similar visual trap with Jesus. The devil took Him to a high mountain and

    “showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world” (Luke 4:5, NIVUK).

    He offered them to Jesus in exchange for one act of worship. It was the ultimate visual allure of immediate, bloodless victory. It was a shortcut to the crown that completely bypassed the suffering of the cross. Jesus rejected the visually stunning solution, remembering His identity as the suffering servant who would redeem the world God’s way.

    When our organisations abandon a solid, steady mission to chase a new toy, a flashy project, or the latest tech trend simply because it looks impressive we may be chasing what looks good to the market right now, but are we ignoring whether it aligns with our core mission.

    We overcome this by fixing our eyes on Jesus. He teaches us to look past the instant visual appeal of a shortcut and focus on the joy set before us, choosing the difficult but enduring path of purposeful, mission-driven work.

    3. The Pride of Life (Reputation)

    This is the focus on how others see you, where you rank amongst them, and the intoxicating belief that you are the sole architect of your own success. It is the ultimate identity theft.

    “…you will be like God…” (Genesis 3:5, NIVUK).

    The final trap in Eden was the promise of elevated status. The serpent convinced Eve that God was holding out on her. Here lies the great tragedy: Eve was already made in the image and likeness of God. She possessed the highest identity possible for a created being. Yet, in her pride, she grasped at a counterfeit version of what she already had, desiring to be her own ultimate authority.

    King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is a prime example of this hook. Looking out over his magnificent empire, he said to himself,

    “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30, NIVUK).

    He forgot that God had granted him his kingdom. In that very moment, his arrogance brought severe judgement. He lost his mind and his human identity, driven away to live like an animal until he looked up and acknowledged Heaven’s rule.

    Returning to Jesus in the wilderness, we see how He handled the temptation of status and reputation. The devil challenged Him to throw Himself from the highest point of the temple, saying,

    “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down” (Matthew 4:6, NIVUK).

    This was an invitation to create a public spectacle and forcibly prove His divine status to the crowds. Jesus refused to perform for reputation. He remained completely secure in His identity without needing a flashy public display or human applause to validate His worth.

    In the boardroom, this translates to chasing the approval of peers or the status of a title over the substance of your service. It is the leader who makes decisions based on PR opportunities rather than what is best for the team. When the pride of life takes root, the business simply becomes a monument to the leader’s ego.

    The antidote to pride is again fixing our eyes on Jesus. Though He was in very nature God, He did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage. Instead, He made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant. We must root our professional identity in how well we serve others, not in how highly they praise us.

    When Are You Vulnerable?

    The enemy waits for specific “weather conditions” in your life to run these three plays.

    • When you are low on energy, you are vulnerable to the lust of the flesh. You naturally want an easy fix. In these exhausted moments, you would rather “snack” on a minor distraction or a counterfeit comfort than do the heavy lifting required to put on the full armour of God.
    • When God seems silent, you become highly susceptible to the lust of the eyes. You are tempted to chase something visible and immediate, reaching for a shiny, surface-level solution rather than waiting patiently on His timing.
    • Finally, when you are isolated and without fellowship to keep you in check, the pride of life easily takes root. It is in that vacuum of accountability that your ego begins to whisper, “I can do this on my own.”

    Our Counter-Play: Fixing the Gaze

    A compass representing the need for Kingdom leadership focus and spiritual guardrails.
    A leader’s primary defence against spiritual distraction is not more effort, but a constant recalibration of their spiritual North.

    We have established that the ultimate course correction for these three hooks is to fix our eyes on Jesus. However, in the daily grind of the professional world, that phrase can sometimes feel abstract or overly spiritual. How do we translate that into practical action? Let us focus on a specific directive Jesus gave regarding where our attention should be focused.

    “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33, NIVUK)

    The key to defeating distraction is found in that second half: “…and all these things will be given to you as well.” The hooks of the flesh, the eyes, and pride all prey on the fear that we are missing out, that we lack provision, or that we must build our own empires. But your Heavenly Father knows exactly what you need. When we put Him first, He provides the rest.

    To keep your eyes practically fixed on Him this week, consider implementing three simple Standard Operating Procedures to protect your focus:

    1. Prayer: Bring Him into every moment, not just the strictly “spiritual” ones. Pray before the difficult client call, during the commute, and whilst making operational decisions.
    2. The Word: Stick to a consistent reading plan. Do not just read it; listen to it. Let Scripture set your baseline reality before the inbox dictates your day.
    3. Fellowship: Do not give up meeting with people who keep you in check. You need peers and mentors who will ask the hard questions and hold you accountable.

    Remember, we are here to win.

    The devil is simply a fallen angel, and his playbook is entirely predictable once you recognise his strategies.

    By understanding his hooks and implementing the right counter-plays, you can navigate your professional life with clear vision and undistracted purpose.

    Next week, we look at the second “D”: Doubt – The whisper of “What if?” and how to answer it.

    Who is Jon Petts?

  • The Devil’s Playbook (Reclaiming your Spiritual Focus)

    The Devil’s Playbook (Reclaiming your Spiritual Focus)

    I was almost sold

    When Andrea and I were young, newly married, and fairly impressionable, we went along to a meeting in a hotel that promised a free holiday just for attending. All we had to do was sit through a presentation first.

    By the end of the evening, we were convinced. It all made sense, and we were ready to sign up for something that would cost us every month for a long time.

    I remember holding the pen, just about to sign, when something didn’t feel right. I couldn’t quite explain it, but it was enough to make me stop. I backed out at the last moment. The salesperson didn’t hide his disappointment—and probably had a few choice words he kept to himself.

    I was almost sold.

    Looking back, I could see that I had been led through a process in someone else’s playbook. What has this to do with reclaiming your spiritual focus?

    The Playbook and You

    Have you ever felt like the world is constantly trying to sell you something? Telling you what you don’t have rather than what you do have? Have you been sold on something before and not realised it was happening?

    A good salesperson can easily take you on a journey and before you know it you’ve committed to a purchase.

    Maybe you’ve been in sales yourself and know what it takes to get inside someone’s head.

    What is a Playbook?

    The term ‘playbook’ (apart from ‘play book’ being used in the theatre and dramatic arts to mean a book of plays) originally meant a notebook containing a sports team’s strategies and plays.

    It’s now used in other lines of work and means a set of tactics frequently employed by anyone engaged in a competitive activity.

    Most sales companies’ playbooks will introduce the company goals and vision. But they will also consider the following:

    • The persona and mindset of their target audience. “Sales reps have to get inside the buyer’s head to sell” (Zorian Rotenberg, insightsquared.com)
    • The buyer journey – the steps your prospect will usually take before committing.
    • Sales process – what it takes to make a sale – call methodology, pitching the product, usual buyer questions and your answers, suggested conversation flow, call and email scripts, sound bytes, objection handling.

    In a sporting setting, the coach will spend a lot of time analysing the opposition, looking for weaknesses in their play, and devise a playbook accordingly. They might consider:

    1. What are our strengths?
    2. Which of these strengths will the opposition already know about and be prepared for?
    3. What are their weaknesses?
    4. Where are they likely to be strong in the next game?
    5. What else is going on for them? (e.g. key player dropped / injured, tired or energised from recent games, current morale, predicted weather conditions, etc.)
    6. How can we utilise the above to maximise our chances of defeating them?

    Now, imagine a spiritual enemy looking at your life, your family, or your organisation and asking those same questions.

    Strategy meeting
    The enemy may have a playbook to keep you from moving forward but by reclaiming your spiritual focus you can run with God’s play!

    Does the Devil have a playbook?

    Absolutely. Here are some verses from the bible that illustrate this, and I’ll unpack how they work later along with more about reclaiming your spiritual focus in this and future posts…

    For we are not unaware of his [Satan’s] schemes.

    (2 Corinthians 2:11)

    Do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:27)

    For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

    Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

    The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

    Satan has a plan. He is a strategist of the “dark world,” looking for an opening. But we must remember: he is only a fallen angel. The all-powerful, all-loving God of the universe has a playbook, too.

    We just have to be both aware of the devil’s schemes and aligned to God’s.

    Let’s first look at God’s playbook and that of our enemy, considering our place in God’s playbook…

    Reclaiming your Spiritual Focus: God’s Playbook

    God has plans we don’t know about.

    He knows the plans he as for you.

    We know that they will prosper us and not harm us, that they are plans of hope and with a bright future. But there are lots of details he chooses to keep from us.

    Look how he told Abraham to go to a land he would show him after he’d committed to the long journey. He had a playbook for Abraham’s life but only revealed it one step at a time. And think about how he told his disciples not to worry about how God will carry out the end times. The Father knows the future. You don’t have to.

    But despite there being numerous plans in God’s heart that are unknown to us, we can still see the headlines of God’s playbook since the beginning.

    So what does God’s overall playbook actually look like? In the broadest sense, it’s already in motion. 

    1. Rescue.

    First, there’s the rescue of humanity—done. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). This is the defining moment in history, the foundation everything else rests on. 

    2. Return.

    But the story isn’t finished. Jesus will return—pending, but promised. “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). 

    3. Reckoning.

    And when he does, there will be a reckoning. The devil’s end is already written: “And the devil, who deceived them [the nations], was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur… They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). 

    4. Reign.

    And then comes the part that’s easy to overlook, but changes everything—we’re not just spectators in this story. Those who belong to him will reign with him. “He will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15), and “If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us” (2 Timothy 2:12).

    So… great. Off you go then, God—we’ll just sit here and wait for Jesus to come back, shall we?

    Not quite.

    We’re not on the sidelines watching it unfold—we’re on the pitch. 

    We’ve been given a position to play, and it’s not complicated, but it does require intention.

    Our Position in the Playbook: Our 3-Point Play

    We’ve been given a position to play, and it’s not complicated, but it does require intention.

    Here’s a 3-point play I believe God wants us all in on:

    1. Love God.

    It starts here: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27). That’s not just a nice idea—it shapes everything. It shows up in worship, in communion, in serving him, in obedience, and sometimes in sacrifice.

    2. Love people.

    Flowing straight out of that, “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27). In practice, that looks like doing life with others, showing genuine care, and bringing that love into your workplace, your neighbourhood—wherever you find yourself day to day.

    3. Make disciples.

    And then there’s the outward call: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15–16). This is Jesus’s great commission, and it involves every believer. We’re not just making converts to a religion—we’re helping people become wholehearted followers of Jesus, baptising them and teaching them to live his way.

    Because God’s plan is so vast and our position in it is so vital, the enemy is extra hard at work. 

    Reclaiming my Spiritual Focus meant not signing the contract!
    Reclaiming my Spiritual Focus meant not signing that contract!

    The enemy’s playbook

    Over the next few weeks, I want to explore the specific tactics he uses to get us off-track.

    We will be looking at:

    Distraction

    Shifting our gaze from the Kingdom to the temporary things in front of us.

    Doubt

    Attacking our identity and God’s character, undermining what we know to be true.

    Despondency

    Using disappointment and delay to wear us down until we feel like giving up.

    Division

    Breaking the unity that gives us strength when we stand together.

    Defilement

    Drawing us into compromise so that we slowly blend in with the patterns of the world.

    Running our Play

    Let’s go back through the five points in the enemy’s playbook and see something important: when we are working from God’s playbook, the response is always ultimately the same.

    The enemy may have multiple plays, and this list isn’t exhaustive, but we don’t need a different answer for each one. We just need to stay anchored in the same response.

    As Hebrews 12:1–2 puts it: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…”

    Here’s how we run our play:

    Defeating Distraction

    Distraction is often subtle—it doesn’t usually announce itself as something dangerous, it just quietly pulls our attention away from what matters most.

    We see this even with the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane. They were heavy-eyed and overwhelmed in the moment, and as a result they missed the weight of what God was doing right in front of them. When the world offers its own distractions we must keep our eyes fixed on the Lord.

    The fix? We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

    Defeating Doubt

    Doubt rarely begins as full unbelief—it usually starts with a shift in focus.

    Take Peter walking on the water. His failure didn’t start when he stepped out of the boat, but when his attention moved from the Savior’s command to the storm’s roar. The moment the waves became more “real” than Jesus, doubt began to take hold.

    The fix? We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

    Defeating Despondency

    Despondency often builds slowly, through repeated disappointment and delayed hope.

    After years of suffering and failed attempts to find healing, the woman with the issue of blood had every reason to give up. But in a moment of faith, she reached out—realising that a single touch of the King was worth more than a decade of human effort. Despondency dies when we stop looking at our list of failed solutions and start looking at the only answer—Jesus.

    The fix? We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

    Defeating Division

    Division creeps in when our identity shifts from who we are in Christ to categories, preferences, or camps.

    We often spend our energy building fences around our denominations and differences, but at the foot of the cross, those labels quickly become irrelevant. Jesus is returning for a unified body defined by its devotion to the groom rather than loyalty to a specific banner. When He is our central focus, the walls we’ve built between one another naturally begin to crumble.

    The fix? We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

    Defeating Defilement

    Defilement usually doesn’t happen all at once. It happens through gradual exposure and shifting attention.

    The world is messy, and if we spend all day looking at the mud, we’re eventually going to get some on us. Sanctification isn’t just a matter of trying harder. It is a byproduct of being so captivated by him that the allure of the shadows loses its grip on our hearts.

    The fix? We keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

    We fix our eyes on Jesus

    The devil might know your weaknesses.

    He might play on them.

    But we know his.

    It’s Jesus.

    This is how we reclaim our focus.

    I was praying for someone who had a relative who was severely oppressed and there was a sense that this was not just a natural problem. We were in a static caravan. The door was closed but not locked. I began to pray about the cross. I was thanking God out loud for his sacrifice, for the crucifixion, for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. As I got to the end of my prayer the door flew wide open and slammed shut. There was a sense of calm from that moment on.

    So that’s the playbook.

    God has a story that is already in motion—rescue accomplished, return promised, reckoning coming, and reign secured. The enemy has his plays too, and while they show up in different forms—distraction, doubt, despondency, division, and defilement—they are not new, and they are not final. 

    And in the middle of it all, we are not left guessing what to do. Our response is not complicated, even if it is not always easy: we fix our eyes on Jesus. Again and again, in every situation, that is the play we run. 

    Because when our focus stays there, everything else begins to fall into its right place.

    Next time, we’ll take the first of those enemy plays—distraction—and look at how it quietly works its way into our lives, and how we learn to recognise it before it takes hold.

    Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

    Who is Jon Petts?