King David is one of the most famous men in the Bible. David walked with God throughout his life and was willing to repent when he had sinned against the Lord. God highly favored David and that is how he became the King of Israel in the first place.
God removed the kingdom from Saul's control and gave it to David. David was not a man who was well-liked by his family as he was the youngest of his brothers.
He was the shepherd of the family and was in control of tending the sheep. Despite his family probably not thinking anything would come of his life since he was the youngest, God chose David to do amazing things.
None of these beautiful and amazing things from God went unnoticed by David as he was always very thankful for the Lord and everything the Lord blessed him with throughout his life. With this being said, here are five lessons in thankfulness from King David's life.
1. Thankfulness in the Form of Repentance
One lesson in thankfulness from King David's life is in the form of repentance. After committing the murder of Bathsheba's husband and taking her as his own wife, God brought down curses upon David.
The baby David had with Bathsheba passed away. Instead of getting mad at God or blaming Him, David chose to praise God and repent of his sin (2 Samuel 24).
This might sound as though an odd point to use repentance as a lesson in thankfulness, yet if we look closer at the story of David and his sin, we can see David's thankfulness at God bringing this issue to the front of his mind.
David was thankful that God taught him this lesson in thankfulness because it brought his senses back to reality. While he mourned and grieved for his child, he was thankful God brought him to the reality of his sin.
David had lusted after Bathsheba even though she was another man's wife. In fact, her husband, Uriah, was one of his lead soldiers.
David ordered Uriah to be at the front of the fighting field and he died as a result. This shows us how bad lust can take someone and turn them into somebody they are not.
Despite David's sin, God still loved him and desired for David to turn back to Him. David had committed adultery (with the coercion of his power) and murder, yet it wasn't until God brought him to his senses that he was aware of how bad things had gotten.
Therefore, he was upset about his child dying, yet he was thankful that the Lord was helping him learn his lesson of turning away from sin. The Bible never records David committing adultery again; however, it does record him offering up endless prayers to the Lord.
2. Thankfulness in the Form of Dance and Celebration
A second lesson in thankfulness from King David's life is in the form of dance and celebration. A most controversial Bible passage in the Bible is how David danced for the Lord (2 Samuel 7:15).
He was only wearing a linen ephod when he was dancing, and this is significant in the sense that it shows David was only dancing to please the Lord. He didn't care what other people thought, even Michal.
While many people would feel self-conscious about dancing in such little material, David was so thankful to the Lord that he didn't care. King David was overcome with so much joy he didn't even think about what he was wearing.
We can learn from this lesson on thankfulness by offering praises to the Lord in song, music, and dance. Anything we do in our life can be done with a heart of worship.
Just like David, we don't have to be afraid of praising and thanking God with our whole heart even if it is not seen as "acceptable" to others.
God looks at our hearts and He sees our true spirit of worship. Even if others shame us for being thankful to God, we don't need to pay them any attention. Rather, we need to keep praising God with a heart of thankfulness and joy.
David was thankful and rejoicing because of the Ark of the Covenant. Maybe you have your own reason to be thankful and rejoice this year. It could be a lesson God is teaching you, a new friend you make, or a special blessing God has given you this year.
There is always a reason to celebrate and even if you cannot find one right now, you can be thankful for the gift of salvation that God has given you.
Even if everything might be very difficult in your life right now, know that God is walking with you through this storm, and one day there will be no more pain, sadness, or tears (Revelation 21:4). This is reason enough to give thanks to the Lord just as King David did.
3. Thankfulness in How God Does Not Judge Based on Appearance
A third lesson in thankfulness from King David's life is how God does not judge based on appearances. As mentioned earlier, God did not choose David based on his appearance. Rather, God chose him because of his heart.
This is because God looks at the heart of the person — not at the appearance (1 Samuel 16:7). Sadly, many people do not treat us as God does because they look at our appearances and then praise or reject us based on them.
This is a tragedy because many have missed opportunities because they only looked at the physical and not at the heart.
We can all be thankful just like King David because God does not judge us based on the way we look. Even though the world judges us and is mean to us based on our appearance, God will never do this. God looks at our hearts and, in our hearts, He sees the real us.
A person might be beautiful on the outside, yet on the inside, they could be a horrible person. We can all praise the Lord that He doesn't ignore our cries or our pleas for help just because we do not look a certain way.
He does not judge us if we don't look a certain way, nor does He treat us poorly if we don't meet society's standards.
I for one am personally thankful just as David was that God doesn’t judge us based on our appearance. As someone who struggles with body image issues and a negative view of myself, it is good to know that God doesn’t judge me the same way I judge myself.
David was thankful that God looked at his heart too and as a result of his faithful and loving heart, God made him King over Israel. This shows us not only the truth that we should be thankful for this reason, but it also shows us that God is not like the world around us.
The world is shallow and only judges based on appearances; however, God looks at our hearts and already declares us beautiful (Psalm 139:13-16).
4. Thankfulness in Forgiveness
A fourth lesson in thankfulness from King David’s life is in the form of forgiveness. After David took Bathsheba as his own and murdered Uriah, he was found guilty of horrible sins. As mentioned, the result of his sin was the death of his baby with Bathsheba.
According to the Mosaic Law, David should have been killed for murder and adultery (Leviticus 20:10, 24:17). Despite this being true, God forgives David (Psalm 32:5). Even though God forgives David after David repents, there are still consequences for his sin.
Yet again, we see this in the form of his baby passing away. This displays to us that God can and will forgive us, yet that doesn’t mean there are no consequences for our sins.
In the aftermath of the death of his baby and having time to reflect on what happened, David wrote Psalm 32.
The first two verses of this Psalm state, “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit” (Psalm 32:1-2).
Just as these verses tell us, King David was thankful that God had forgiven him of his sins. He says those who are forgiven are blessed and this includes himself as well as you as a believer today.
You can also be thankful for the forgiveness God has given you. If you have placed faith in Jesus, you can rest in the assurance that all of your sins have been forgiven.
While we will all continue to sin until we are with Christ, we know we can find forgiveness in the Lord if we call out to Him. For this, we all need to be eternally thankful.
Even though there are many people in our lives who may never forgive us for the bad things we have done in the past, we know that God will always forgive us if we turn to Him, ask for forgiveness, and repent. For this, we can all be thankful.
5. Hope Is at the Center of Thankfulness
A fifth lesson in thankfulness from King David’s life is that hope is at the center of thankfulness. Throughout David’s life and through his writings, we see his steadfast hope in the Lord even when times are hard.
Upon careful reading of the Psalms by David, we can see many are times of despair, depression, and grief. David doesn’t sugarcoat things, nor does he act as though things are better than what they are.
Instead, he is not afraid to be honest with his feelings and to pour out his heart to God. Through being real with God and opening up his heart to Him, he allows hope to fill his life.
This is a key theme throughout the Book of Psalms (Psalm 33:20-23, 39:7-8, 62:5-6). Hope is always at the center of David’s life and this hope is rooted in thankfulness. By having a hopeful heart, he can be thankful for all the things that will happen in the future.
Just like us, David was a human and he had to die just like we will die one day. Even though he knew he would die one day, he had hope in the future because of the Lord and this caused him to be thankful.
Psalm 71:14 says, “As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more.” Hope is always at the center of thankfulness in King David’s life because his hope was found in God, and this caused him to be thankful.
We can all be thankful because likewise, our hope is found in Christ alone. We do not have to be afraid of what happens tomorrow or even what happens after death because God is always with us. Allow hope in the Lord to anchor your soul and see how thankfulness will fill up your heart.
King David’s life was far from perfect; however, he always turned back to the Lord and found his hope in God. There are many lessons in thankfulness from King David’s life that we should not overlook because we might also see them reflected in our own lives.
For further reading:
What Are God’s Promises to David?
How Did a Man after God’s Own Heart Fall So Far into Sin?
7 Inspiring Bible Characters Who Teach Us about Thankfulness
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Kristen Prahl
