“David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father's house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men. And David went thence to Mizpeh of Moab: and he said unto the king of Moab, Let my father and my mother, I pray thee, come forth, and be with you, till I know what God will do for me. And he brought them before the king of Moab: and they dwelt with him all the while that David was in the hold. And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.” (1 Samuel 22:1-5)
In this story of David and his mighty men, we can see the drawing power that a powerful man of God, that has a kindred spirit with those who are hurting, can have. While David was on the run from Saul, he came upon this cave, the cave Adullam. Here he found safety, security and some resemblance of peace. After being on the run from Saul for so long, it was a wonderful escape.
The longer he stayed in the cave the more comfortable he became. Yes, warriors had time to come and gather themselves unto him to build up his army, for the Word says that “every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him,” but more was going on here than meets the eye. The longer they stayed, the more at ease they became. Then, in the passage of Scripture above, an interesting thing occurs–the terminology changes. In the beginning it was called the Cave Addulam, but then towards the end it is no longer called a cave any longer, but rather, a “hold.”
Spiritually, this is showing us that if you become too settled, too comfortable, too at ease, that you will become used to staying in the “hold.” I see this as a holding-pattern. Too many of us have developed holding patterns in our lives. Sure, we’ve been in spiritual battles, we’ve been fighting the good fight of faith, but then things start to die down; things start to be easier for a while. The tendency for most is to enjoy it for as long as we can. Things are going smoothly right now, so why rock the boat, right? Wrong! Rocking the boat is what God specializes in!
David and his mighty men had spent enough time in the hold. Their holding pattern had made them comfortable. It was time to leave and get back to the fighting once again. So, God sent a prophet to them. The prophet Gad said unto David, “Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.” The prophet Gad was telling David that he, the future king, must not remain in a foreign land, but in the face of all risk return to his own country, in order that by exploits he might gain reputation, and prepare his way to the throne. David was not intended to keep himself concealed. God had more for him than that!
Over the past few decades much has been taught concerning generational curses, but what I want to help you understand is generational holding patterns instead. A generational holding pattern is not the same as a generational curse. A curse is because of open and willful sin. A holding pattern is because of a set pattern or routine that individuals, or corporate bodies, enter into over a period of time.
David and his mighty men were not in a hold because of sin. They were in a holding pattern because of becoming comfortable with their surroundings. Judges 2:10 tells us about generational holding patterns: “And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.” The next generation knew not the Lord or His works, not due to the sins of their fathers, but by their fathers not teaching them like they should have. Thus, a generation grew up in the holding pattern of their fathers, and like their fathers, they continued in the hold.
We, as Christian warfighters, must break out of our holding patterns. We must charge out into the open and let the world know that there is a mighty assembly of warriors who will not just simply hide out in the hold. We want more of God. We want more of His presence. We want to see more souls saved by the glorious blood of Jesus Christ! And hiding out won’t get the job accomplished. If we truly are to establish dominion here on earth, we must get out of our holding patterns and pursue God as fast and as hard as we can. For, if we do so, we will see the power of God flowing through us like we have never even dreamed of.