There are certain laws or principles God has set into motion that govern natural laws. Take for instance the law of gravity, if you jump off a cliff you are not breaking the law of gravity, rather you are proving it. In the same way there is a spiritual law in Gods word that could be called the law of Gods' covering. It started in the Garden of Eden before sin entered. Adam was covered with the shekinah, visible, manifested glory of God, but sin entered in and Adams' covering was removed. Under the glory covering Adam knew no sin, no hurt, no lack, no darkness, only the sweet presence and fellowship of the Lord (Genesis 2:25).

    With their eternal covering gone, the Lord set up the system of sacrifice and covered Adam and Eve with the shedding of blood when He put animal skins on them. But as we all know this was only a temporary, incomplete system adopted by God to show them a preview of the One True Lamb to come, the Lord Jesus Christ. When Christ died on the cross, the once and for all sacrifice (Hebrews 7:27b) He made of His own precious blood, made a way for people of all nations, races and backgrounds to come once again under the covering of the Most High God. We must accept the sacrifice Christ made for our sins by making Him Lord of our life, and along with eternal life we get the benefit of coming under Gods' covering.

    We sometimes make the assumption by thinking that once we are saved we automatically stay under His covering of glory, but Ps 91:1 says ' He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty'. Am I dwelling in His shelter, or have I entered into an area where I have removed myself from the protection of His presence? Is my life bombarded with sin, hurt, lack, darkness, and only a faint remembrance of the sweet presence of the Lord? If so, perhaps I am not dwelling in His presence. The Lord showed me three areas that can affect our dwelling under His glory. They are, obedience, praise in times of trouble, and submission.

    I don't know of anyone who loves the word obey. There is something within us that wants to flee from it because it is so contrary to our flesh nature. But did you know that obedience is actually a place of freedom, because it keeps us under His covering? Jesus said in John 15:10 "If you obey my commands you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His." The times God is looking for obedience the most is when I feel like doing it the least! There are times when we don't want to inconvenience ourselves for the sake of the gospel. It's too much trouble, or we are too tired or we don't like the person God wants us to minister to, the reasons go on and on. But the Gospel of Christ is not convenient, it will cost you, but not anything like it cost Jesus. God doesn't anoint us to have convenience, but to have a demonstration of power to confirm His word. I have had to stop myself in the middle of complaining about the struggles of ministry and say to the Lord "It is an honor to minister in your name, no matter what the struggles are." Will we choose convenience and comfort without the glory, or will we press on, in spite of all demonic and fleshly odds and let obedience keep us free, under Gods' covering?

    What about praising God in the midst of trials and storms? God is looking for those who have His praise on their lips in the season of storms. Anyone of us can praise Him when things are going well, but it takes an overcomer to worship Him when things are going all wrong. True worship comes when we worship Him for who He is and not how our life is going. If I can talk about how great my faith is when all is well, but start murmuring and complaining when all is not well, I never had the faith I first bragged about having because faith isn't faith unless it's tested. (1Pe 1:6-7) We must choose the sacrifice of praise especially during contrary winds, and keep ourselves under Gods' covering.

    Now for a concept that is a true rebellion gage especially for women, submission. In 1996 God called me with an audible voice from one office of the five-fold ministry to another. I didn't even know what the functions of the new office were, and neither did my husband. It took our whole family time to adjust to this new thing in my life. For months after the call, ministry wasn't opening up for me, after all I had been called where were all the invitations? Finally, Dave came to me before church one morning and said, "If this is what God has called you to be, we will work it out and make it fit into our lives." I thought to myself "Lord he has just given me his blessing." That very morning was the first time I had ever been given a prophetic word in church to speak to the body. Had I stepped out before I had the agreement and blessing of my husband over my calling, I would have been doing it not only without his covering but the Lords as well. As a matter of fact there were times when I did step out before his covering came and I got myself into some messes. As a woman without the covering of her husband (his agreement and his blessing) I would have been functioning and ministering without a covering. So, by waiting for a release from my husband I am now operating and functioning in my giftings with Gods' covering of glory over me. I can promise you while I was waiting for my husband's agreement, God was killing off fleshly ambition in me that could have caused me to self-destruct down the road. It's amazing, as soon as enough flesh had been crucified in me, my husband became thrilled and excited about the call on my life. God uses submission to crucify our rebellion and self will. This is why Paul gave us Ephesians 5:22-33, he knew the importance of being submitted because it places us in the dwelling of God. While submitting to a husband pertains to women, there is a place of protection for male and female alike as we come under the covering of Christian leaders God has put in our life. When we operate outside of submission and covering we become an open target for the enemy because our giftings (as good and wonderful as they are) are uncovered and we are vulnerable to deception.

    Jesus Christ reconnected our access to Gods' covering of glory for us on the cross. It is a place of rest, comfort and protection. So let me ask you, " Are you covered?"