You Must Go Back to Move Forward
We spend most of our lives trying to avoid the pain of the past.
We’ve talked previously about how dangerous and unhinged Herod was. So when he set his sights on killing the infant Jesus, there’s no surprise Joseph had to hide him.
After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” (Matthew 2:13, NLT)
Nothing could have been worse for a Jewish person. Egypt was a reminder of past trauma. That trauma passed down through generations, and no Jewish person would have willingly gone there for refuge. God instructed Joseph to take the infant Jesus and his mother to the place of Israel’s pain.
Israel’s Exodus from slavery was the central part of their identity and their pain. Joseph took Jesus into the very heart of his people’s trauma. Don’t be surprised when your pain comes back as you move forward. In fact, God often calls us back to the place of our pain so we can heal.
It’s only through facing the pain of the past that we can move forward. Otherwise, we attempt to tiptoe into the future, fearful of reopening an old would. Without facing your pain you can never heal.