Stuck in the Past
- Jason Fike
- Apr 15
- 2 min read
“But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” – Genesis 19:26 (NIV)
God had given Lot and his family a way out. Judgment was coming to Sodom and Gomorrah, but in His mercy, He sent angels to rescue them—pulling them from destruction and offering a future. A new beginning. A second chance.
They were given one simple instruction:
“Don’t look back.”
But Lot’s wife did. And in that moment—just one glance—she became a pillar of salt. Frozen. Stuck in the past. Immobilized in the very place she was meant to leave behind.
Why did she look back?
It wasn’t just a physical turn of the head. It was a revealing of the heart.
Her body was moving toward the future, but her heart still lived in the past. She had been offered freedom, but her affection was still tangled in what used to be—her home, her lifestyle, her memories… maybe even people she couldn’t bear to release.
That single backward look wasn’t about curiosity—it was about attachment. And because she couldn’t let go, she couldn’t move forward. Instead of stepping into the promise, she became stuck—literally and spiritually—frozen in place.
How often are we stuck in the past?
God calls us forward, but we keep looking back.
He calls us out of:
toxic relationships
old sins and patterns
mindsets that no longer serve us
situations that feel safe, but are actually keeping us small
…yet we hesitate. We look back. We long for what’s familiar.
And just like Lot’s wife, we risk becoming frozen in time—paralyzed by memories, regrets, and what-ifs.
The past has a way of holding us hostage.
But God doesn’t dwell in our history—He moves in our destiny. And if we keep looking backward, we’ll miss what He’s doing ahead of us.
We can’t follow Jesus into new life if our hearts are stuck in old places. Moving forward requires:
faith in God’s goodness
trust that His plans are better
courage to release what’s behind us
Lot’s wife had a future. She had a way out. But her inability to let go left her stuck, frozen, and ultimately—left behind.
Are you frozen in the past?
You don’t have to stay there. God is calling you forward—not just into a new place, but into a new you.
Let go of what’s weighing you down. Stop rehearsing what God has already rescued you from. Don’t let fear or familiarity keep you frozen.
Don’t let your past cost you your future.
