What are some characteristics of David that Christians today should emulate? Why?

From a young age, David knew
that God could triumph over any giant in life. When he faced Goliath, the
Philistine scoffed at him because he was such a young boy. But David never wavered in his
confidence that God could help him be victorious under seemingly impossible circumstances. He
asserts,

You come against me with sword and spear and
javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and Ill strike
you down and cut off your head. (1 Samuel 17:45-46)

When
enemies closed rank and the situation seemed an impossible feat, David relied on God for
deliverance, acknowledging His power through the battle.

David
proved himself a faithful friend. Following the battle, he proved his loyalty to
Saul and Jonathan:

After David had finished talking with
Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul
kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant
with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave
it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. Whatever mission
Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. (1 Samuel
18:1-5)

David received expensive gifts that both connoted
his friends' faith in him and proved his loyalty as both a friend and a soldier. David was
willing to fight his friends' battles. He was willing to undertake his friends' struggles. He
aligned himself firmly on the side of whatever Saul and Jonathan faced. And because of that, he
was rewarded.

David allowed himself to be transformed by his
desperation and complete solitude in the cave. In Psalm 142, David's utter
desperation is felt in these cries:

Look and see, there is
no one at my right hand;
no one is concerned for me.
I have no
refuge;
no one cares for my life. (Psalm 142:4)

All Christians reach a metaphorical cave at some point in lifethe point at which there
seems to be no other solution, no other salvation, except God's grace. At this point in his
life, David realized that God alone could provide deliverance from his
trials:

Set me free from my
prison,
that I may praise your name.
Then the righteous will gather about
me
because of your goodness to me. (Psalm 142:7)

The desperation David felt led him to God and to the possibility of being reconstructed
after being broken down. David is careful to acknowledge God in his prayers for deliverance,
promising that if God will free him, David will give God the glory so that other believers'
faith can be strengthened. Great men and women allow themselves to be broken by God in order to
allow Him to reconstruct their lives into something of greater significance than it was
before.

David is open to listening to other faithful followers
in order to confront his own sin. After murdering Uriah so that he could conceal
his adulterous affair with Bathsheba, God sends Nathan to reveal the truth of David's sin, which
David has become blind to. David is quick to condemn adultery and murder when he thinks it is
another man, but when Nathan shows that David has committed the same sin, David has a choice. He
can cling to his sinful ways, or he can confront the truth of his choices. He chooses the
latter:

Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against
the Lord. (2 Samuel 12:13)

Because he confesses his sin,
David is spared, but Nathan tells him that the son he has created through sin will die. David
pleads with the Lord to spare his son, but his child dies, anyway. David faces another choice at
this point which shows another character trait that Christians today can emulate.
Whenstrikes, David chooses to praise God, anyway:

David noticed that his attendants were whispering among themselves,
and he realized the child was dead. Is the child dead? he asked.

Yes,
they replied, he is dead.

Then David got up from the ground. After he had
washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and
worshiped. (2 Samuel 12:19-20)

David could have retreated
into anger, furious that God had not spared his sons or answered his prayers in the way David
wanted. However, David's actions show that he trusts God's plans and will worship him regardless
of circumstances and even if he cannot understand God's ways. He will worship God, even in
painfully difficult circumstances in life.

David understood
that life on Earth is temporary, so he should focus instead on things of eternal
importance:

Surely the lowborn are but a
breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are
only a breath. (Psalm 62:9)

Life on earth is
"nothing"a "breath." Those born into privilege are eternally no more
significant than the "lowborn." Death is the great equalizer, and what we do with our
lives that impacts eternity is the best way to utilize the life God gives us.

David didn't live the perfect life, and he surely stumbled along the path of life. But
David was also willing to submit himself to God's plans and even His punishments for his own
human failings, and this "man after God's own heart" continually sought to improve his
relationship with his creator.