In the 3,090 days between 26 November 2017 and 12 May 2026, I listened to Psalm 45 (Live), a song by Shane & Shane, 1,530 times on Spotify. That is the equivalent of listening to the song at least once every two days for around eight and a half years straight! And this does not include the many times I decided to stream the song on YouTube.

Suffice it to say, this is my all-time favourite song, at least judging by how many times I have listened to it. I love everything about this song, but the chorus is what has kept me coming back to it over and over again. The chorus goes like this:

Perhaps two lines from this chorus stand out even more: “You’re the fairest of all” and “Fairest in heaven and earth”. I do not know why these two lines stand out so much. They just do. Maybe by the time I have finished spilling my thoughts onto this blog, I will know why.

Some weeks ago, as I do pretty much every day, I was on YouTube. Somehow, somewhere, I came across a BBC video about a community in the Republic of Benin that not only lives peacefully with snakes but also worships them.

Now, yours truly has a very unhealthy fear of snakes, so watching the video was no easy task. However, it got me thinking about the things we humans believe in as our gods. Some worship snakes, others worship people or forces of nature, and the list truly is endless. In a way, it seems we can literally pick out almost anything and, for whatever reason, bow our heads and worship it.

So, what do I believe in? Which god do I personally worship?

I promise I will answer these questions. Just spare me a few more sentences before I get there. Let’s take a short detour through the weirdness of my brain.

One of my favourite exchanges between God and a person recorded in the Bible is the one in Job 38 and the chapters that follow. God asks Job questions like:

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?” “Have you commanded the morning since your days began?” “Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?” “Have you entered the storehouses of snow?” “Do you give the horse his might?” “What is the way to the place where the light is distributed, or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?”

And God drills Job with question after question, leaving him to put his hand over his mouth and shut up. There are probably several reasons God asked Job all those questions. Job did not have answers to them, but God certainly put him in his place and showed him just how little he understood. It also helps put God in the place he deserves to be. HE is the one who laid the foundations of the earth and knows ALL the inner workings of the universe.

So, which God?

I pray to the God who created everything and who orders everything.

I look at the sun and am astonished at how massive it is. But I will not worship the sun, regardless of how big or majestic it is. I will worship the One who made it.

I look at my elephants and marvel at how incredible they are – massive, smart and sometimes cute. But I will not bow down to them or make an idol out of one of them. I will worship the One who made them.

Snakes are apparently cute, too. But I will not worship them. I will worship the One who made them.

Water is strong and mighty. Fire is hot and dangerous. Wind is powerful. But I will not worship any of these. I will worship the One who commands the waves of the sea, the One who unleashes the wind with His voice, and the One from whose mouth fire flows. I will worship the one of whom it is written: “When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.”

I look around the earth and find the fairest of all. I look up to the heavens and find the fairest of all. That is my God. The Creator and Ruler of all. The one who gives and sustains life. The source of all that is. The Fairest of all. The Fairest in heaven and earth.

That is my God.

You want a name for this God? He is God. The “I AM”.

What about you? Which god do you believe in? When you pray, which god do you pray to and why?