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For weeks, I kept hearing the Lord say, “It’s time to come out of the hold. Time is up. It’s time to leave that place and move on.”
I knew right away that this “hold” was referring to the hold or stronghold David hid in twice throughout his life, and that many have been in for some time now. This was the place of survival from the storm and the hard seasons of life—seasons of rejection, persecution, deep grief, discouragement, attack, hope deferred and trauma.
The hold can feel like a reprieve, for a moment, and a shelter of sorts. It can be a place where God refreshes and resuscitates you. But it’s also the place where the enemy tries to bombard you with lies and chatter, and to keep you in apathy, if you aren’t aware of it.
I felt that this hold was the place of forfeit for many who have fought a good fight but have felt like they don’t have any strength left to press forward into the fulfillment of the promise. The hold is a place of limbo and transition as people wait for their next orders, directions and assignments.
The hold is a place of deliverance where God uncoils the snake from around your neck and removes the daggers from your back. The hold, or wilderness, can be a momentary dwelling during the thick season of battle, but it can also be a place of spiritual death to those who overstay their season.
David fled to the cave of Adullam (the hold) when Saul was trying to take his life. But while he was safe from Saul, it became a place of victimhood and bondage. The hold ended up becoming a stronghold!
“And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them,” (1 Sam. 22:2).
But the hold was also the place where David momentarily hid to receive the instruction and plans from the Lord of how to defeat the Philistines.
“When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold… David inquired of the LORD, ‘Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hands?’ The LORD answered him, ‘Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands,’“ (2 Sam. 5:17, 19).
When it was time, God used a prophet to tell David, “OK, David. It’s time to leave that season and that place you have been in!” And I feel the Spirit of God brooding over us right now, letting us know that it’s time to leave the hold!
“Then the prophet Gad said to David, ‘Do not remain in the stronghold; depart, and go into the land of Judah.’ So David departed and went into the forest of Hereth,” (1 Sam. 22:5).
The place of limbo, the waiting and the holding pattern are over.
The “Ekballo” Anointing
As I’m typing this, I feel the ekballo anointing on this word [ekballo is the Greek word meaning “to cast out”], which is the anointing to deliver, drive out and send forth. It’s the anointing to break and sever ties and set captives free. I feel the Lord is doing this in you and me, and in many across the body of Christ right now. There are some prisons that we have been in, and it’s time those bars broke and released us from this limiting place.
The mental torment and anguish that many have been through are coming to an end now, in Jesus’ name!
This year, many have come under a dark cloud of confusion, fear, foreboding and demonic lies sent to keep them stagnant. Many have felt depression begin to set in and an oppressive heaviness resting over them until they no longer have any strength or motivation to move forward or to fight for the promise. The enemy has had you surrounded on every side, but I feel the power of the Spirit over this right now—it’s time to break free from that hold in Jesus’ name! The hold over your mind, the hold over your destiny and the hold over your direction and assignment is breaking now in Jesus’ name!
Also, I see the twisting python spirit coiling around relationships and partnerships, trying to poison what God is bringing together. But right now I command all assignments against covenant relationships to be broken, in Jesus’ name! I call you OUT of that place now!
Can You Hear the Sound of Breakthrough?
When David left the hold in 2 Samuel chapter five, this is what took place:
“So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, ‘As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me.’ So that place was called Baal Perazim. The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.
“Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of the LORD, and He answered, ‘Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.’ So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.” (2 Sam. 5:20-25)
I believe the church has been held up in the stronghold, but watch as suddenly the season shifts and the sound in the poplar trees can be heard around the world, sending a shiver down the enemy’s spine as a reminder that his days are almost up.
It’s time to advance and not retreat; it’s time to push forward and not hide. It’s time to rise up and pursue the enemy!
For the rest of this article, visit elijahlist.com.
Nate Johnston is a prophetic voice and worshiper who has a heart to see sons and daughters unleashed into passionate friendship with God and an effective supernatural lifestyle. Through his ministry school “Everyday Revivalists,” he leads people from the basics of the gospel through to being sent and released into their mission field, as well as championing and raising up emerging prophetic voices around the world. His burning cry and desire is to see the body of Christ become a beacon for the lost by raising up a generation that walks in the love and power of God, representing Him well. Nate and his wife Christy have three daughters, Charlotte, Sophie and Ava and live in Dallas, Texas.
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