Psalm Ninety-One Two.

“I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.””
Psalms 91:2

I’ll probably use the word powerful dozens of million more times but in this case: the power in powerful comes from a defensive standpoint rather than an attacking perspective.

Despite being a young black boy Nigerian heritage, I did not grow obsessed with being a striker. That forward minded player where stereo-typically, the glory seemed to come to the one who scored all the goals.

To be quite honest I never got to that stage where I’d be ‘rated’, at best I was always underrated. So in school or kicking about with mates: if you wasn’t good enough, you’d be put in defence.

But yet what looked like something that was forced, was only pushing me faster into my true comfort zone. Sort of how I ended up in University.

I’m a fan of attacking football but what I truly love is a great tackle, a block, an interception. Denying someone the chance to break through the wall.

Whether I watch football on tv, play it on pc, or live it in reality, I get an adrenaline off it.

Defence is sometimes only recognised in times of trouble, yet without it, your weakness becomes exposed. Open. We run to God. “The righteous run into his defence, and they are saved.” (Proverbs 18:10)

It says He is my refuge. What is refuge? “The state of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or difficulty.”

We see all over the news about refugees and immigration. Whether you was in or out, Immigration was the only thing the media focused on. A refugee takes refuge in safety.

Now that may come across as a trigger to respond with a slap of fresh sarcasm. But technically… we are all… refugees.

We are refugees who take refuge in God.

First world problems are here and they are real. We hide and live in fear of debt collectors or parents who’s expectations have overwhelmed us. Can’t even tell them how your day really went. Worried that one mistake, one embarrassment and Social media will ravage the Megabyte house you tweeted so much to build. Conflict triggered over misunderstandings.

Yet David is saying here that God is his refuge. A personal saviour. Sending Jesus to die so that we may find safety. That we may find shelter in his power. God takes in any colour, any gender, even any sin that was committed in the last minute or the last five years. The righteous and the unrighteous.

And if I’m not a refugee yet, then I need to jump on the back of the truck that will lead me to his presence. There’s this quote from a creative known as Triple O and he talks about the same David.

He’s like fam. Hand me over to God. Not my enemies. That Our doubts are safer in God’s hand than in the outside world. Doubts about the opposite sex, doubts about your career, business and education. We must run to him when depression pursues us. When danger lurks in the alleyways of life. When difficult times challenge our thinking and faith.

You can even look at the term refuge again. What happens to a refugee when they arrive? To them it’s like a land filled with milk and honey. They get food,

Fortress. Fortress of solitude. (Only real comic book fans will recognise that ) It says not only is God his refuge, but his fortress. Wharra word.

Yall seen the phenomenon Fortnite. If you don’t know or have been trying to avoid hearing kids talk to you about this, it’s a mass survival game. You build ‘forts’ to DEFEND yourself from attacks. It doesn’t seem to take much for people to pathetically attempt to link this with my name.

What I’m saying here is God has built a spiritual building around you, you find refuge in this. But the building is not only where you can hide, but a place that no one can take down, get past. A wall you can’t break.

I speak a lot about football, and I’ll continue to speak about it the moment something is mentioned about my team. A lot of times I’d sit and listen to pre match conferences, punditry (football analysis) and other people rant in my circle. If there’s one thing everyone can agree on, it’s that one of the keys to a title winning season is a near perfect home record. Stadiums where teams come to and cannot defeat the side playing there are referred to – a Fortress.

Away fans come to that ground with fear, and the atmosphere is forever in the Home sides favour. You simply don’t want it with them, you’d want to avoid playing there. And if you grow the confidence to try to win, you suffer.

So when the devil, and the things he’s placed in this world is sent to come, and collect you. Not only will God keep you safe but also to protect you from those who try and to kill, steal, destroy you. You don’t take L’s in his fortress. A lot of times we feel we are still catching Ls even when we’ve “given ourselves to him”

And that’s me included.

I was at a youth concert, and during it there was a quiz game called Kahoot. You can choose to play under any name you want. And as expected everyone did the most. Shout out to ‘Bible Babe’ 

I chose ‘My Guy’, a term probably that has been deeply rinsed amongst people like myself. It’s a way of gassing up a brother. Complimenting them. My Guy is just… that guy. There’s a sense of excitement without the worry when ‘my guy’ is on the scene. Now David here is essentially talking about his ‘Guy’. When you use the term My G, My Guy – there’s a personal attachment to it.

My. They are mine. My G has got it on lock. My brudda. My girl. My wife. My Dad will beat up your Dad. That person you put after ‘My’ is so special to you that they’ve become your own.

David’s relationship with tight with God he called him his own. David’s Go-to Guy was God. There’s that direct relationship. That’s some real relationship goals dere my guy.

So I have to ask this question to myself, if a documentary of my life was filmed from the moment I discovered God, how much would he feature? Is he a cameo? Is he a supporting cast? Or is he really My Guy, My God and he’s been at the center of it all, the whole time?