Making good choices is the key to living a long and healthy life, and these 10 Decisions for a Long Life will position you for longevity.
Have you ever been to the doctor and had to answer questions regarding your medical history? You’re typically given a long list of conditions with boxes to check, as part of what practitioners use to help you prevent future health problems.
Regardless of how many boxes you check, the good news is that you, as a believer, have inside information from the Word of God about how to live a healthy life. God has provided instructions in His Word that will help you live a long life. Proverbs 3:1-2 says, “My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying.” Living a long and satisfying life is possible. You can make healthy choices that will prolong your life by following 10 Decisions for a Long Life based on the Word of God.
1. Have a relaxed attitude.
“A relaxed attitude lengthens a man’s life; jealousy rots it away.” –Proverbs 14:30 (TLB)
Stress is not good for you—and chronic stress definitely isn’t. Both will cut your life short. But if you make the decision to have a relaxed attitude and avoid jealousy, it can help you live a long life. Train yourself to roll your cares over on God and leave them with Him (1 Peter 5:7). Practice praying about everything, instead of worrying. Then you’ll experience the peace that only He can give (Philippians 4:6-7). The next time you can’t quite relax, let your response be to first pray and give all your cares to Him.
2. Forgive freely.
“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” –Colossians 3:13
When someone offends you by insulting you, overlooking you or hurting you in some other way, forgive them. Instead of retaliating, let forgiving others—no matter what they do to you—become a way of life. Freely forgive, even when you don’t feel like it (Ephesians 4:32). And remember, forgiving someone doesn’t mean they get away with what they did, but it does mean you get to live free spiritually, mentally and emotionally—instead of allowing bitterness to take root in your heart and being offended at every little thing (Hebrews 12:15). If you freely forgive, you will live in freedom!
For more help forgiving others, read HERE.
3. Speak blessing, not cursing.
“Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous? Then keep your tongue from speaking evil.” –Psalm 34:12-13
When someone cuts you off in traffic or offends you on social media, it’s so easy to curse them, but God has commanded you not to speak evil. He doesn’t want you using foul language and cursing people out—even when they can’t hear you. He wants you to speak blessing in every situation. He wants you to encourage and lift people up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). By doing so, you can help change the atmosphere and their perspective. God literally gave you that kind of power (Proverbs 18:21). So the next time you start to curse, stop and bless instead.
4. Be a doer of the Word.
“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” –James 1:22
You can go to church, learn the Word, and maybe even memorize it; but if you’re not actively doing the Word, you’re what the Word calls “a hearer only.” “For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it” (James 1:23-25). Decide today to be a doer of the Word by obeying what you see in the Bible, and your life will be blessed.
5. Remember God’s benefits.
“Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.” –Psalm 103:2
God has provided many benefits for you; in fact, He lists them in Psalm 103. He forgives all your sins, heals all your diseases, redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with love and tender mercies, fills your life with good things, renews your youth, and executes justice for you, just to name a few. Live your life remembering these great and wonderful benefits; and by doing so, you will prolong your life.
Watch Gloria Copeland explain all of God’s health benefits.
6. Live a healthy lifestyle.
“He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” –Psalm 103:5
God wants you to live a healthy lifestyle by eating healthy food, exercising and getting enough rest, in addition to other choices to take care of your body that lead to a better quality of life. Many diseases are self-inflicted by what you eat, what you do and how you treat your body—so do your best to make the right choices. Choose to live a healthy lifestyle and declare, “I like what is good for me, and I don’t like what is bad for me.” You will find that your tastes and preferences will line up with what is healthy and good for you.
7. Grow sweeter with age.
“Be kind to each other, tenderhearted….” –Ephesians 4:32
It’s such a temptation as you age to get stuck in your own ways rather than continuing to grow in the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Choosing to stagnate in your spiritual growth, and consequently your perspectives, are the opposite of having your youth renewed like the eagle’s. Instead, choose to renew your mind by continuing to feed on the Word and grow in Christ. When you are kind to everyone you meet, tenderhearted, forgiving, loving and generous, you are growing sweeter with age.
Confess the same words as Kenneth Copeland for renewing your youth HERE.
8. Bless anyone who wrongs you.
“Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.” –1 Peter 3:8-9
It will always be easier to speak negatively, rudely or critically of people, particularly when they wrong you in some way, but God has called you to bless—as well as to be a blessing to everyone you interact with. “Bless those who persecute you,” Paul said. “Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them” (Romans 12:14). When your heart is wounded, when someone does you wrong, bless them with your words and your actions.
9. Keep a clear conscience.
“Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.” –1 Peter 3:16
Keeping a clear conscience isn’t about deciding for yourself what’s right or wrong; it’s digging into the Word and letting the Word determine what’s right or wrong—then aligning your heart and behavior with what it says. For example, David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), but he made several mistakes. Still, he is the one who wrote some of the most practical instructions for how to keep a clear conscience. In one Psalm he wrote, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24). Use this verse as a prayer to keep your conscience clear.
10. Take authority over the devil.
“I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.” –Luke 10:19
When Jesus left this world, He seated you spiritually with Him high above all the power of the enemy. That means there is nothing the enemy can throw your way that you can’t defeat with the Word of God. But you have to put that power into action by speaking the Word of God over your circumstances. Though you have authority over the devil—because Jesus gave it to you—you have to use Scripture to take what is yours by faith and speak to the sickness or disease trying to steal your long life.
To learn more about taking authority over the devil, watch here.
By putting the Word into practice and making these 10 Decisions for a Long Life, you will begin enjoying the long and healthy life God wants for you! Instead of having to check several health problems on the doctor’s checklist, you’ll have a body and a mind that work well—a living testimony of God’s faithfulness to His Word and to you.
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