These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

—Deuteronomy 6:6-9

Last night I decided to take a break from writing. Normally, Sunday evenings are when I reflect on the week and what God has taught me before writing a post. But my husband and I had just gotten back from vacation on Saturday, and I couldn’t pinpoint anything specific God was leading me toward. Instead of stressing, I decided to just do a little Bible study for the sake of Bible study and worry about the writing this morning.

Around seven o’clock, I gathered my Bible and my Armory Scripture Journal and plopped onto the bed I’d been missing for the better half of a week. Then I stared at the cover of the closed Bible.

I’d recently started a new guided Bible study, but I wasn’t enjoying it much—it felt more like a review than anything new. So last night, I ditched the guide and read on my own, but I had no idea where to start.

Learning to Value the Old Truths

To my surprise, I felt led to [read the beginning of the book of Matthew]. The book begins with the birth of Jesus, His baptism, the calling of His first disciples, and the Sermon on the Mount—all familiar ground. I pouted a little, honestly. I love discovering new knowledge and truth. I don’t think that’s bad, but I was disappointed because God was leading me to remember, not learn something new.

I think we see this everywhere—our culture’s obsession with the new and lack of patience for the old. A new style. A new gadget. A new iPhone. A new update on the news. The new is exciting. But God’s design for His people wasn’t built on chasing newness. It was built on remembering.

The Biblical Command to Remember

In fact, the book of Deuteronomy is one long reminder. Moses gives his final message to the people of Israel before he dies—a message reminding them who God is, what He has done, and what happens when we turn from Him.

In chapter 6, we find the Shema—a Jewish prayer that reminds the people how to relate to God. The rest of the chapter is devoted to variations of the command to remember God’s faithfulness.

But this remembering is not like memorizing a fact for school. It’s not reciting the Preamble and forgetting it a week later. God’s kind of remembering is active, personal, and generational. And thankfully, He gives us practical ways to do it.

4 Ways God Teaches Us to Remember

1. “You shall teach them diligently to your sons.”

One of the best ways to remember something is to teach it to someone else. The process of putting things in your own words helps cement that knowledge in your long-term memory. When we follow this instruction to teach the next generation about Him, not only do they benefit from the generational blessings that come with obedience, but it actually helps us remember God’s goodness.

2. “You shall talk of them.”

Stories matter. Storytelling has always been a powerful way to remember. It’s much easier to remember something in story form than to memorize a list of facts. So God tells us to tell our stories. When we wake up; when we go to bed; when we go out; when we stay in. We should always be ready to tell our story.

3. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand… as frontals on your forehead.”

This refers to meditating on God and His truth. Not just reciting verses, although that can play a part, but thinking deeply about God’s truth and how we should live in light of it. Doing this can help us internalize God’s word in a way that leads to action rather than just head knowledge.

4. “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

What better way to remember God and His goodness than to put physical reminders of it in your space? Not many of us have gates that we can still write on, but we can do this today by writing verses on our mirrors or using items in our decorating that remind us of how good God has been to us.

Faith Over Novelty

Straight memorization can feel overwhelming. But God is good—He knows we’re human, and in His kindness, He’s given us a how-to guide for remembering His truth.

So this week, let’s practice spiritual remembrance. Let’s stop chasing the next big thing and instead, reflect on all that God has already done.