Momspirational Life

Have you ever felt like you’re trying to move forward, but something keeps pulling you back?

Looking back can feel harmless, even comforting at times. But spiritually, it can quietly delay healing and keep us stuck in places God already called us out of.

In this post, we’ll look at what the Bible shows us about letting go, and why looking back can keep wounds open longer than necessary.

What does “looking back” mean spiritually?

Looking back doesn’t always mean physically returning to something.

Sometimes it looks like replaying old thoughts, holding onto past identities, or longing for what God already asked us to leave behind.

And, while it may seem small, it can quietly slow down the healing God is trying to do.

The Weight of Looking Back

I am certain that many of us have heard the expression, “putting salt in an old wound.”

When we think about this phrase through a biblical lens, it becomes even more meaningful as we consider the spiritual significance of salt in our lives.

As we grow in our relationship with God and seek to lead others to Him, we often underestimate the importance of how our lives should be seasoned. Yet, many believers struggle with a common temptation: looking back at doors God has already closed.

There is a difference between looking back in the flesh to grieve what we lost and looking back in the Spirit to share the testimony of what God delivered us from.

Tabitha, Momspirational Life

Remember Lot’s Wife: The Warning Behind Looking Back

In the book of Genesis, we read about how Lot’s wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. The angels had given a clear command: do not look back, but keep moving forward as God delivered Lot and his family from the destruction He was bringing upon Sodom and Gomorrah. In that moment, Lot’s wife gave in to the temptation of her flesh. Her disobedience revealed something deeper. Her heart was still tied to what God was rescuing her from.

A Reflection of Our Own Hearts

When we read this today, we might wonder how someone could disobey such a command when destruction was literally falling from the sky. Yet, if we are honest, our own hearts are not so different.

We look back with thoughts like:

“What if?”
“Maybe I could still keep part of that life.”
“Is there another way where I don’t have to fully change?”

Sometimes, we become so accustomed to our burdens that the idea of living free from them actually feels unfamiliar.

The Reality of Our Wounds

The only thing that can truly cleanse them is the blood of Jesus Christ.

The truth is that we are all wounded in some way, whether from sins we have committed or wounds inflicted upon us by others.

Those wounds must be cleaned.

When Healing Becomes a Testimony

When God heals us, He does not simply cover the wound, He closes it. The pain we once carried becomes a testimony of His mercy and deliverance. In many ways, our testimony becomes like the cauterization of a spiritual wound. What once caused pain becomes evidence of God’s healing power.

Reopening What God Has Healed

However, when we continually return to the very things God delivered us from, we reopen wounds that Christ has already healed. Repeated offense and repeated sin are like tearing open a wound that God had already sealed, and when we run toward Jesus while keeping our focus on what is behind us, we are essentially pouring salt into wounds that God intended to heal.

Salt in Scripture often represents preservation and covenant, something lasting and meaningful. However, salt placed into an open wound does not heal. It irritates.

A Question for the Heart

So, now the question becomes this:

Are we allowing God to season our lives with His grace, or are we reopening wounds by constantly looking behind us?

Called Forward, Not Back

When God delivers us from something, He does not call us to stare back at the ashes of what was destroyed. He calls us to walk forward in freedom.

Looking back with longing keeps us spiritually stuck.
Looking back with gratitude turns our past into a testimony.

Remember Lot’s Wife

Jesus Himself gave a simple but powerful warning:

“Remember Lot’s wife.” Luke 17:32

Her story reminds us that when God calls us out of something, we cannot carry our hearts back to the place He rescued us from. That is what complete surrender looks like, not partial surrender, but complete.

How to stop looking back and start healing

Healing doesn’t come from revisiting what God already closed.

It comes from trusting Him enough to move forward, even when it feels uncomfortable.

Letting go isn’t always easy, but it is often necessary for true healing.

Moving Forward in Freedom

A healed wound becomes a testimony.
A reopened wound becomes a cycle.

So, when God calls you forward, keep your eyes on Him.

Because freedom is always found in moving forward with Christ, not in looking back at what He has already called you to leave behind.

With love,
Tabitha