Page 102 - Overcoming Addiction

Psalms 51:6
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts...

When the apostle Paul spoke of girding our waist with truth, he used the
Greek word aletheia. This Greek word literally means “not concealed.” The
message given is that Yahweh desires that there be nothing hidden, or concealed
in the inward parts of a man. We can only begin to do warfare as we cast aside all
deception and come into agreement with God.
If God says there is pride in us that must be driven out of the land, we must
not call it something else. If He says there is fear, we must not say it is simply
caution. If He says there is stubbornness, we must not be like King Saul and
declare that we do not see it. In order for the Lord to lead us into victory over all
enemies in the land, we must agree with Him about the character of all of the
inhabitants within us. If He says that something is sin, we must agree.
We must remember that our enemies are not other men, nor is the Kingdom
of God that we seek to establish some outward earthly kingdom. The Kingdom of
God is within us. We must therefore allow the light of God to shine upon our inner
parts and disclose every enemy that dwells in the land. Our inward parts must be
covered in truth. We must have the heart of David who prayed:

Psalms 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart (inner man); try me and know my
anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me...

This is the beginning of our warfare. We must come to the light of truth and
allow the Spirit to identify all things within that must be brought under subjection
to the rule of God.
Some years back I attended a series of meetings that featured a man named
Milton Green as the speaker. He was the former owner of a carpet cleaning
business, but had left that occupation to become a teacher to the church. He
shared an event that reveals the need for the saints to have their loins girt with the
belt of truth.
Mr. Green shared that he had hired a man that had worked in carpet
cleaning before, and who had much experience. On his first day working with this
man, Milton dropped him off at an office building to clean the carpets, telling him
he would pick him up later. When he arrived to pick up the man, he immediately
noticed areas on the carpet that were soiled. The man approached him and told
him he was through and ready to go. Milton asked the man, “You are done
cleaning the offices?” The man assured him he was. Milton then walked over to a
dirty area of the carpet and asked the man “What is this?” The man replied, “I
don’t see anything.” Milton then asked him to come closer, and he bent down and
pointed to the dirty carpet. He asked again, “What is this?” The man made some
excuse, so Milton asked him a third time, “What is this?” Finally the man
admitted, “It is dirt.”
Milton shared from this experience that if the man could not agree with him
that dirt was dirt, then he would be unable to work with him. In the same way,
God cannot work with us if we do not agree with Him concerning the sin in our