From the Home Place

February 10, 2026

22 degrees at 3 a.m. The high will be 20 degrees cooler today than yesterday’s high, but the wind should come in at 20 mph less! As my uncle would have said, “I reckon we can work with that.”

Yesterday, Miss Deb hosted her ladies Bible study group here at the house. It is always a blessing to hear laughter and know that hearts are reaching toward heaven. For when we look to God, He is faithful to reveal His presence, His power and His peace. In Psalm 34, David shares these words with us, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. I sought the Lord, and He answered me.”

One of the ladies who studies the Scriptures with the group has become a special friend. As she was preparing to leave our home, she asked me, “Do you actually sit in the dark at 3:30 in the morning as you visit with God?” She asked a question I would like to answer with you this morning.

As I sit quietly before the Lord, the darkness allows me to more clearly see the LIGHT! His presence is richer; His words are clearer. For me, sitting alone with Jesus in the darkness of this world, is to prepare to sit before Him in the glory of heaven. To me, to sit in the dark and bask in His light might be as close as I will get to death before it arrives. Though my body is in the dark, my spirit if fully illuminated in His presence!

Within the darkness of death there will be nothing that I “need to do.” Nor will there be any place that “I need to get to.” I will finally, truly “be still” before my Lord. For in that moment of stillness, my spirit will finally truly be alive in His presence. Today, I practice that stillness as I dwell upon Psalm 34 in my spirit, sitting in the dark, enjoying the LIGHT.

My soul boasts in the Lord – He is to be magnified, He is graceful, He is merciful, He is all powerful, He is all knowing, He is all present, He is GOD! I invite you to “Magnify the Lord with me.” Join me in exalting His name, the name of Jesus, the name of Emanuel, Jehovah, Jehovah Jireh, El Shaddai, Elohim, Yahweh, El Shaddai, El Roi, Adonai, Jehovah Rapha, Heavenly Father, the name of All Mighty GOD!

To sit alone in the presence of God, is to be surrounded by the men and women of Hebrews, Chapter 11. There will come a day when I will no longer study about Abraham; I will praise God with Abraham, and Paul, and Peter, and the friends of this world who have trusted fully in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, what a day of rejoicing that will be!

Will you join us there? Will your name appear in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Alongside of the names mentioned above, and thousands upon thousands more! Come, let us magnify Him, Christ the Lord! Though my body is still, though the world around me is quiet, though I am surrounded by the darkness of this world, I am filled with the Light of Jesus. Praise God!

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me;” As the great saint of old asked, “If God is with us, who can stand against us?” For we truly “can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.”

As I sit in the darkness, I see His light; as I place myself in His presence, I feel His peace; as I exalt His name, I am humbled; as I confess, I am cleansed, as I focus, I am filled; as I surrender, I am empowered. Today, I “shall rejoice and be glad,” for whatever comes my way will come for His purpose! “Not my will, but Thy will be done.”

It is now 4:42 a.m. and I have no Idea what this day will hold for me; I only know Who holds me; and that is enough.

Sitting in His light with you, Neal