A Very Grateful Heart
I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you. . . I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. . . I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. . .
Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and said:
"Who am I, LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, LORD, God, have looked on me as though I was the most exalted of men.
"What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, LORD. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises". . .
"And now, LORD, let the promises you have made concerning your servant be established forever. Do as you promised, so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, "The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel's God! And the house of your servant David will be established before you. . . "
I Chronicles 17:10-24
Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and said:
"Who am I, LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, LORD, God, have looked on me as though I was the most exalted of men.
"What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, LORD. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises". . .
"And now, LORD, let the promises you have made concerning your servant be established forever. Do as you promised, so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, "The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel's God! And the house of your servant David will be established before you. . . "
I Chronicles 17:10-24
David had a very unique and interesting relationship with God. God called him a man after His own heart. There are certain things that seemed to have characterized his relationship with God.
First: David's most important personal preoccupation seemed to have been the state of his relationship with God. When he committed adultery with Bathsheba, his greatest pain was that he had sinned against God alone: "Against you, and you alone, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. . . Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit away from me." (Psalm 51:4;11)
Second: We also see the deep personal hunger and craving he had towards communing and fellowshipping with God: "One thing I ask from the LORD, this thing I do seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple" (Psalm 27:4)
Third, we see in the above passage in I Chronicles 17 that David's relationship with God was characterized by a deep sense of personal gratitude: "Who am I, LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, LORD, have looked upon me as though I was the most exalted of men. What more can David say to you for honoring your servant?"
It is interesting that we are told that King David went in and sat before the LORD and said those things to Him! You can almost feel the near casual and yet humble and reverential atmosphere in which David simply sat before God and spoke with Him! He even reminded God to ensure that the promises He had made to him were established so that people will recognize and praise the God of Israel. This was such a beautiful conversational atmosphere.
I believe when we are deeply concerned about the state of our relationship with God; when we have a deep hunger and craving to commune with Him; and when we are deeply grateful for how far God has brought us, our relationship will be as sweet as that of David no matter how high we rise or how low we sink. God becomes so loving; so real; and so approachable!
So, question: Do you have that deep sense of gratitude that simply causes you to sit before God and "chat" with Him about how far He has brought you? Or do you run in and out of His presence with a very hurried and agitated spirit to remind Him of all that you have not yet received from Him? Let your relationship with God be characterized by deep gratitude.
Prayer: Father, please forgive my ingratitude for not counting my blessings from your gracious hand and focusing mostly on what I have not yet received from your hand. Amen.