“For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” -Proverbs 3:2
One thing the Word of God makes clear; God wants to see you victorious and at peace. In Proverbs 3:2, Solomon tells us that if we commit out lives to the Word of God we will find “length of days and long life.” You mean there is a difference? You better believe it!
Long life is exactly that, a life that is full of days. It says in Psalms 91:16, “With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.” Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God has determined a day for each human being to die. Out of ignorance people have said, “well, once my day comes then I will go.” That is quite absurd. Rather, God has given us conditions from His Word and promises us that if we will follow them we will see not only a long life but also a life that is full of peace and good days (1 Pet. 3:9,10).
To add to this, God promises to give us “length of days.” How does length of days differ from long life? The best example of this is found in Joshua 10. God had given Joshua and the children of Israel peace with the inhabitants of Gibeon (v.4). As is typical of the enemy, he will always attempt to take the peace that is rightfully ours (Pr. 3:2). The kings of the Amorites gathered together against the children of Israel and were intent on destroying them (v.6; Jn.10:10). Joshua knew that the key to winning any battle was cooperating with the God of heaven, so He followed the instructions of the Lord (v.9). The Lord began to fight for Israel sending great hailstones, which devastated the army of the Amorites. However night was approaching and the battle was not yet complete. By using his covenant authority, Joshua commanded the sun and moon to stand still “until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies” (v.13). The hand of God held the sun and moon in place a whole day until the people of God had completely won the battle.
The wonderful thing about God is that He does not want the sun to go down on your wrath (defeat) (Eph. 4:26). Joshua’s battle is just as important to God as the battles that we face everyday. Just like Joshua, you are a covenant person (Heb. 8:6). By being in Christ Jesus, your covenant far exceeds the one Joshua had (Heb. 9:13-14; 12:24) and guarantees you that “whatsoever yes shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive” (Mt. 21:22). God has promised to keep the sun up until you have the victory over the enemy established in your heart. Length of days means that God will lengthen your day until you see your enemies flee. Every single night you should be able to lay your head down in peace and know that the battle has been won (Ps. 127:2). Joshua was not going to lay his head down until he had complete victory and God honored this kind of faith. Today be like Joshua and receive God’s promise to lengthen your day until you have the assurance in your heart that the battle is won.
Prayer:
“Father I thank you for your promise to lengthen my day until I can be assured that the battle is won. Because of the work of Christ on the cross I have victory over anything that the enemy would attempt to do in my life today. I declare that any sickness in my body is defeated. I declare that any entangling addiction loses its power over my life today. I declare that I am a child of the new covenant and, as a result, a partaker of its promises. Therefore I will see long life and have your peace in my heart until I am satisfied. I know that when I lay my head down tonight, the battle will be over. Today is a day of great victory, IN JESUS NAME, AMEN!“
