Greatness through gentleness?

As I was reading through 2 Samuel 22, this phrase stood out to me;

your gentleness made me great

2 Samuel 22:36 (ESV)

This phrase comes amongst a stream of descriptions of what God is like; a shield, strong, secure and a rock, so how does gentleness fit in? 

It doesn't seem to fit with the other expressions about the stability, strength and security of God. Let alone the statement that gentleness made David great (how can gentleness make someone great?). It doesn't seem that these two aspects; gentleness and greatness should go hand-in-hand. They don't seem compatible. So why does David put them together?

We usually associate gentleness with being; meek, mild and calm. 

Greatness is about being distinguished, standing out, having authority and power. 

So, how do these two qualities meet? How does God's gentleness lead to David's greatness? Are we even allowed to say that we are great (as David did?!)? 

Could it be something about God's great patience, His mildness in dealing with our inadequacies that causes David to feel great? Maybe David has seen that God's mildness and grace has taken care of him, maybe even rubbed off on him so that he can handle difficult situations in a calm manner. 

Thinking about it, that's probably a huge quality that we need in our troubles, gentleness - the ability to have a calm, considered, mild response. Not to instantly react, but to calmly contend during strife. Gentleness implies that we deal with others well. Not seeking to destroy or battle them, but remain calm even against opposition. 

David learned how to do that because God was his example. When we look at the New Testament, we see Jesus was incredible at it - When he was spat at, flogged, ridiculed and cruelly murdered, he remained gentle. He did not fight, shout, rant or curse. He responded mildly, considered others and even remained silent when abused. This gentleness of Jesus demonstrated his godliness and greatness. 

There is power in gentleness. Jesus gentleness indeed fulfilled this phrase, "your gentleness made me great". Without Jesus living the gentle life he did and dying the death he did we would not have the great life we have now. We would not have the freedom from guilt or shame that we enjoy, nor the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave us greatness through his gentleness, can we too be great through gentleness?