in addition, i think its interesting to note that in parshas ki sovoh (i believe) the passuk talks about giving bikurim–because Hashem took us out of eretz mitzrayim and brought us to Eretz Yisroel, we have an obligation to bring the FIRST of our fruits to Yerushalayim, to show Hashem that we recognize that everything is from Him and there is nothing that is “kochi V’otzem Yadi.” the same week that we read this parsha, Lehman Brothers and AIG went down. we cannot rely on ourselves or even the biggest companies b/c ultimately, Hashem controls the world.
if Hashem sees that we are lacking in recognizing Him, He sends us “reminders”