Print, Pray, and Picture This: A New Thing

Sometimes we go through dry seasons. Other times our season may feel brimming with possibility and closeness with God. But those dry seasons do come. When you find yourself in such a place, feeling uninspired and disconnected, as though you are wandering out in the desert, it is easy to wish that time away in favor of what we had before.

I catch myself doing this all the time.

“If only I could get back to….”

“If I could just study the Word the way I used to….”

If… if… if…. The cycle can be never-ending if you’re not careful.

One of my favorite verses to retreat to during times like that, when my eyes gaze backwards down the path to seasons past, is Isaiah 43:19.

“See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland.”

Behold, a NEW thing. God is not one to lead us backwards. He has a NEW thing in store for us, something ahead. It may take some effort, but we are to pull our gaze from what has been left behind and lift it up to Him, forward, following Him onward.

I loved these snappy camera sheets from the Print & Pray shop, and I when I decided to illustrate this verse I knew one needed to live in this corner of Isaiah.

I used the Big & Bold alphas as a big and bold reminder for the first word of the verse, then followed with the homespun alphas in a few colors that matched the camera. In its message box I wrote “The wilderness seasons are all part of the process! You are drawing near here!” as a prayer and reminder that even the dry times are important and character building.

When I first started Bible journaling, I rarely dated pages, and now I make sure to date EVERY entry. I know I’ll be going back to this verse again and again, and it encourages my heart to see the seasons God has walked me through in the past. His faithfulness then gives me hope for the future!

Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Big & Bold Alphas in Hey Sugar Sugar | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Precision Pen | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Homespun Alphas in Hey Sugar Sugar, Bananas for You, and Olive You | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Enamel Hearts in Bananas for You | Illustrated Faith by Bella Blvd Roller Date Stamp | “I am seeking you” cut out from the Illustrated Faith Yes & Amen kit | Illustrated Faith Print & Pray Shop camera from the”In His Image” set | Illustrated Faith Print & Pray Shop tab from the “Joyful Noise” set | Idea-ology by Tim Holtz Phrase Stickers | Faber-Castell Big Brush Pen in Green