King David was a man who endured a lot of suffering in his lifetime. He was annointed King of Israel when he was a teenager, but before he had the crown, he first had go through character development. He was a shepherd, then a musician for King Saul, and then a mighty warrior. But Saul got jealous of him so David ran away and was in hiding in the mountains of Israel for many years, running away from those who wanted to kill him. And then, the time came for him to claim the throne.
But even then it wasn't all smooth sailing for him. His own son, Absalom, turned against him, the Ark of the Covenant was stolen, his baby died and a lot of the Israelites were struck down because of an error he had made. Yet, in all these things, David never forgot his God.
One of the distinct characteristics of King David was his ability to give thanks to the Lord, his God and praise His holy name no matter what's happening around him.
Psalm 9:1
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
He always thanked the Lord with all his heart and he never forgot about the goodness of his Savior.
Despite David being a man under a lot of trials, if we read First and Second Samuel and the books of Chronicles, we can see that David was also a man of tremendous victory.
If we read the book of Psalms, we can see that David was a man of thanksgiving. What thanksgiving does is it changes our perspectives. It fills our hearts with gratitude and a positive attitude as we hear from our own lips how good God has been to us. If we are reminded of the things that we are grateful for, it becomes easy to shift our thinking from negative to positive.
Lord, I'm having a really hard time dealing with this thing but I thank you because you've always been there to help me.
I thank you, Lord, because even though what I expected didn't work out, the people that I dealt with were all nice to me.
Lord, I thank you because you're the one who works out all things together for good to them that love you and I know that you will help me now because you've helped me before and nothing is too hard for you to do.
These are some examples to learn from. Thanksgiving gets us to focus on God who is the one who will guide us out of our trouble zones, and not dwell on the troubles itself.
King David had way more conflict in his lifetime than most of us do today; but,he always came out victoriously as he gave thanks to his God who's able to save him from any threat.
Oprah Winfrey puts it nicely when she said, "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."
David didn't have a big army when he began. He had only around 300 men, who were outcasts and rejects; but, he always had a thankful attitude. When he was crowned King, mighty men - who are all battle trained came from all of Israel - to pledge allegiance to him. From a few hundreds, his army expanded to thousands upon thousands.
Thanksgiving multiplies the good and fades out the bad. It doesn't mean that the tough situations will magically change, but it changes our outlook. Therefore, it makes tough situations less of a focus. Bad things happen, but even in the midst of them, there will always be something to be thankful for.
"When we choose thankful prayer over wallowing in anxiety and worry, we are demonstrating an unwavering trust in God," says Priscilla Shirer.
Is not God the holder of our destinies? Is He not the one who is in control? Is He not the one with the power to work all things for our benefit? Billy Graham says that, "A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord. Thank God in the midst of trials and every persecution."
Thanking God when it's difficult takes the decision of the will. It's not easy to say, "Thank you, Lord." When everything seems to be crumbling away or when nothing seems to be working out in our favor, so we must remind ourselves of who God is and what He's done in our lives so far.
Romans 8:28 says that "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
Let's not forget to thank the Lord. An attitude of gratitude will always reap blessings.
