Does it seem strange to you that the Old Testament books contain so many reminders of who God is? Why is remembering God—the one true God—so important and yet so hard for us to do? I can hear the Israelites now, in their best George Costanza voice, “Yeah, yeah, I remember God, split the sea, set the people free, miracles, miracles, yada, yada, yada . . . hey, look at that shiny golden calf!” What an insult that must be to the very Creator of life, to have His creation so quickly and repeatedly give their hearts and worship away to distractions and idols.

We are pulled in so many directions these days, but this is nothing new. The Scriptures record God’s relationship with the nation of Israel—chosen to demonstrate God’s love for man to the rest of the watching world. In the Old Testament, we see repeated cycles of the Israelites’ obedience, prosperity and praise of God, followed quickly by complacency and distraction, then sin and rebellion, and finally death and destruction.

Time and again, the Israelites “remembered” God and called out to Him in their distress, seeking mercy and relationship with Him. Unfailingly, God remembered His covenant and restored them. To be honest, when I read these reminders, like Psalm 106, I sometimes roll my eyes and ask, “Why did they need so much reminding?” Maybe it’s me who needs to be reminded.

Psalm 106 reminds me, once again, of my own human condition, my own broken relationship with God, and my own inability to stay focused on Him. In fact, the brief history of man demonstrates it is in my very nature to forget, even to ignore or reject, the blessings of God and “busy” myself with the distractions of life.

 The Israelites had no email, iPods, or even NFL football (can you imagine?), but they still found ways to become distracted from a relationship with God. Think about that. If they could be distracted from their faith in a world of far fewer distractions, how much easier is it for us to become distracted with the idols of today?

I think that’s why the Scriptures are filled with these reminders. Our Heavenly Father knows our hearts and minds are prone to wander and He knows we need constant reminding. Thank you, God, for sending Your Son, Jesus, to restore us to relationship with You, for giving us Your infallible Word in the Bible to remind us that You have a divine plan far bigger than our own plans, and for sending the Holy Spirit to renew and strengthen our faith and hope in You.

God loves us and is forever faithful, even though we are not; what a blessing. Let’s stay focused on His Word and not get distracted by the world. Let’s think of Scripture as our daily reminder of His great and enduring love for us and use it to encourage those who need to be “reminded” for the first time.