Therefore...

"Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his burning anger," (Isaiah 13:13 NIV). 

'Therefore' is used 442 times in the New International Version of the Bible and many more times in the King James version (1220 times). I've always been told that whenever 'therefore' appears in the Bible you should pay attention to what comes next. 

Recently we have had our own alerts. Our house was built in 2015 and we bought it in 2016. There were seven smoke detectors and two combination smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors installed in our house. Last week in the middle of the night the alarms went off. We checked every corner and there was no fire. Then we tried to figure out how to shut the alarms off. All the while this loud, ear-breaking screech was blasting through the house!

John finally found the alarm button to push that controlled all the alerts and the high shrill sound stopped. Since that night the alarms have gone off six or seven times. Twice we have come home and found the alarms blasting for who knows how long!

Therefore, we first thought the batteries needed to be replaced since they are nearly 10 years old. When changing out the batteries didn't stop the sudden screeching alerts we purchased nine new alarms. (No small expense!) Yesterday, John spent the day replacing eight of the alarms. Of course they have changed the way alarms work now, so it took extra time to rewire the connections.

There is one alarm left to replace but it is located up about 20 feet, in the vaulted ceiling area. It will require the tall extension ladder, positioned over the difficult-to-move sectional sofa. Neither of us like heights. It will be a big complicated job so we will wait for the right moment to tackle it. Luckily, that old alarm doesn't seem to be bad. We haven't had the alarms go off in 12 hours.

Dear Lord, we get so wound up in our day-to-day struggles that we sometimes forget to praise You for all that You do. You have given us such a beautiful spring with so much amazing colors in the grass, the trees, and all the flowers. All these things come from Your Creation and we are so blessed to enjoy it all. Thank You and praise to You for alerting us to the power only You hold. In the Name of Your Holy Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.