King David and his Relentless Gratitude

On August 1501, renowned Italian sculptor, painter, and architect Michelangelo was commissioned to undertake the challenging work of carving from a huge block of marble. His mandate was to bring to life the image of a young courageous warrior who dared to take on a giant villain named Goliath. After three years of tireless work on a shapeless block of marble, Michelangelo created the astonishing masterpiece of renaissance sculpture called David—a 17 ft tall marble statue of the famous Bible character David. 500 years later, this statue remains a key tourist attraction in Florence, Italy, and is perhaps the most famous sculpture of all time.

Let us transition from the streets of Florence to the pages of scriptures and from the astonishingly beautiful (yet lifeless) work of art to the inspiring story of David as we explore David's Relentless Gratitude.?Relentless gratitude is gratitude that cannot be quenched by the waters of adversities. It is gratitude that cannot be extinguished by the troubles of life. It is undying gratitude that withstands the fiercest trials of life. It is a constant and continuing gratitude that does not fade and fluctuate with the vicissitudes of life.

King David—Beyond Goliath to his Gratitude

When the name David is mentioned, the next thought on most people's minds is Goliath. It is almost as though these two names are inseparable. However, beyond David's momentous triumph over the villain, Goliath, there is another aspect of his life that presents key lessons on the subject of gratitude. The amount of real estate in the Bible dedicated to the life of King David and the expressions of his gratitude is enormous. Apart from Jesus Christ, more is written about King David than any other character in the entire Bible. The life of David spans several books of the Bible (1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, 1 Kings), and the legacy of David's gratitude fills the book of Psalms.

Relentless Gratitude Despite Great Adversities

David's gratitude is unique in the sense that he passed through unthinkable adversities, all kinds of life troubles, and fierce trails, and yet he managed to maintain not just a grateful heart (this would be an understatement) but a unique heart that fervently bubbled with overflowing gratitude toward God. How does a person remain grateful after multiple assassination attempts by his boss and King? Pursued by contingents of highly skilled assassins and, at some point, by an entire army, he became a fugitive forced to abandon the comfort of his house to live in the forest and caves. In all these life-threatening predicaments, David found time to sing and even write Psalms of gratitude to God. This is incredible!

David was not a man to stay silent in discouragement, sorrow, and bitterness of heart. He was not a man of passive and latent gratitude. No! Instead, his lips and his instruments continually produced the sounds of pleasant praise and thanksgiving toward God (Psalm 30:12). He was so full of gratitude toward God that it found diverse expressions as thoughtful praises, profound thanksgiving, exuberant dancing, radical generosity, deep devotion to God, and selfless service. David had a heart that was restless with gratitude. That a human could be this grateful despite experiencing what seemed to be an unending stream of adversities and hardships in life is, quite frankly, amazing and deserves careful study. With gratitude entrenched in his heart, David thrived and blossomed in the face of adversity. His life experiences practically depict the convergence of gratitude and the treasured quality of resilience; they vividly illustrate to us that gratitude works to make us stronger and more resilient.

The secret of David's Relentless Gratitude

1. A Unique Perspective: Perspective is inseparable from gratitude. Because gratitude toward God begins with a recognition that we have received good from God and that God, by nature, is good, it, therefore, means that gratitude, to a large extent, is hinged on perspective. It takes having a proper perspective to be able to recognize that you have been a beneficiary of God’s goodness. Once a person’s perspective is faulty, by implication, the heart's capacity for gratitude is crippled, and such a person would struggle to feel and express gratitude. A recurring theme in many of David's Psalms is God's goodness and mercy.

• David was fully convinced that God is good. He believed and did not doubt the intrinsic goodness of God (Psalm 27:13).
• David did not assess and evaluate God’s goodness based on the prevailing circumstances of his life. Rather, his strong belief in God’s goodness was rooted in revelation knowledge. He must have acquired this spiritual knowledge in the place of personal intimacy with God (Psalm 34:8, Psalm 31:19).

1. Intimate Knowledge of God: King David’s unique perspective about life, and most importantly about God, turbo-charged his heart of gratitude. As a curious reader, you may be wondering, “How was David able to develop such a unique perspective about God? How did David come to the point of being fully persuaded that God is good, despite his adversities?” These are good questions, considering David’s profound faith-driven perspective was rare. The answer is simple. David knew God! In the same way, a wife would know the character of her husband, David intimately knew God. With a hungry heart, he panted after God. In the place of intimacy, I believe, the practical reality of God’s nature and attributes became evident to David. This close-up revelation transformed David’s perspective.
2. ?Deep Gratitude Reflections: In my country of birth, there is a profound adage that, when interpreted, says, “It is only those who think that can give thanks.” This adage is deep and has serious implications for gratitude. I have come to realize that if a person does not have a thought life in the form of habitual meditation and reflection, it is unlikely that they would cultivate gratitude in a meaningful way. In studying David, I observed that he was given to meditation. David often spent prolonged hours in what I have termed deep gratitude reflections. I believe it is this deep gratitude reflection that contributed to David’s spiritual depth and his ability to write the kind of profound Psalms of gratitude that he wrote. David’s practice of deep gratitude reflections can be found in Psalm 143:5-6 and Psalm 63:3-6.
3. A Humble Heart Free of Entitlement Mentality: On two significant occasions in King David's life (2 Samuel 7:18-19 and 1 Chronicles 29:13-14), he uttered notable words in his prayers to God. These words reflect the condition of his heart despite his greatness and fame as a triumphant King. “Who am I?” “What is my house (family)?” “Who are my people?”. Even though he was devoted to God and made great sacrifices that touched God’s heart, when God’s reward came, he did not respond as if he had a certificate of entitlement to those blessings. He did not say, “You know I paid the price to qualify for these blessings.” Entitlement mentality is gravely detrimental to cultivating gratitude. The moment we become preoccupied with “it is my right” and “I deserve it” patterns of thinking, it does not take long before we begin to take the goodness of God toward us for granted.

?King David! What a life! What a heart! In exploring King David's life, I hope that you took a lesson from the four things that fueled gratitude in David's life.

FURTHER READING AND REFERENCES

1. "David (Michelangelo)," in Wikipedia, November 27, 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Michelangelo)

2. The Bible (Psalm 30:12, Psalm 27:13, Psalm 34:8, Psalm 31:19, Psalm 143:5-6, Psalm 63:3-6, 2 Samuel 7:18-19, 1 Chronicles 29:13-14)