Reminders are my friend. Despite my calendar, sticky notes and countless notes in my phone, I always appreciate people who remind me. When someone reminds me, I am so grateful because it makes me look good. Each time a safeguard is issued against me dropping the ball, I am relieved.
In my relationship with the Lord, we remind each other a lot. He reminds me of tasks I need to accomplish, people I need to check in on, and most importantly, His Word. I remind Him of who needs His help, my desires and I also remind God of His Word. You may ask, why would God need to be reminded of what he said to begin with? I mean, He is God, surely, He has a great memory.
While God does not struggle with the same forgetfulness that we do, he does like to be reminded. We see it first in the story of Noah. After the flood, he gives a sign of the covenant with Noah to never again flood the earth. “Whenever I form the clouds over the earth and a rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between you and me and all the living creatures.” Genesis 9:14-15.
God goes on to say in the next verse, “I will look at the rainbow and remember”. The scriptures say that the rainbow is a sign to us, but a reminder to God. Clearly, God welcomes reminders of His promises. After all He gave one to Himself sort of like we do with our daily lists and sticky notes. Reminding God of His Word is empowering in many ways.
Declaring God’s Word to the author Himself is an agreement. It is a powerful way to speak truth and hope into your circumstances. There is a holy confidence that is developed when we are in the habit of reminding God. We aren’t cowering and begging, we are boldly proclaiming God’s promises. God is not offended when we remind Him of His Word, he invites it.
Moses reminded God when his people built an idol when they got tired of waiting on God. “Lord, why does your anger burn against your people you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel – you swore by yourself and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’” Exodus 32:11,13.
Our relationship with the Lord is a two-way relationship. In that relationship, we should feel comfortable with being reminded and reminding God too. We are called to wait upon the Lord and an important part of waiting is repeating to God what we hope in, but cannot yet see. He tells us that all His promises in Jesus are yes and amen! Though we may not see the promise fulfilled today, a great way to stir hope within us is reminding God of what is ahead and in turn be reminded of what a faithful God we serve.
