King David

David was on the run from King Saul for quite a time, and for part of it he actually went and lived amongst the Philistines. Have I told you how God has a sense of humor?

He eventually did become king though, and ruled from the age of 30 for 40 years. He conquered all who would take Israel on and he brought the Ark back to Jerusalem and set in motion the rebuilding of the Lord's temple which would be completed by Solomon. He also managed to make his share of mistakes, to be certain. Everyone who has ever walked the Earth outside of God (Jesus being God in human form) makes mistakes.

But I guess the thing that really strikes me in reading about David is that, no matter what highs or lows he experienced in life, God was always openly at the center of it. They say it takes more courage to be thankful to God when things are going bad, but I don't know that it isn't the other way around. When things are going horribly, nobody expects anything from us. We obviously can't handle it ourselves or things would have gone better, right?

When things are going really well, though, is when we're more likely to take the credit and the admiration people want to pile on us. Maybe it's harder in those times to humble ourselves and give all of the thanks and credit to God, out loud and where everyone can see and hear it.

You can read the entire story of David's reign as king in 2 Samuel but I want to focus on two verses here. In 2 Samuel 6, David is bringing the Ark back into Jerusalem and, for obvious reasons, is rejoicing. In verse 16, his wife sees him and is less than enthused:

As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

And after the party had died down and David came back home, here is what happened in verses 20 through 22:

When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."

He wasn't afraid to offend people or humiliate himself when celebrating with God. In fact, he was proud to do so. It's funny how we'll get completely fired up and out of control for a ballgame but most of us when faced with the miracles and blessings of God tend to get reserved and introspective. If God has just done something amazingly wonderful in your life, celebrate it! Shout it from the rooftops! It's OK to be a fool in other people's eyes when you are so happy and so close to God that you can't contain it.

The next time you experience God's greatness, I challenge you to let people know about it. Celebrate it like you would if your favorite team just won a championship. Share it with the people you love. Revel in it for just as long as you can. You never know how long the time of happiness and peace will last, but you can surely make sure you remember the victory.