axle popped out!!

Hi! I just purchased a 1994 Jimmy. I noticed when I put it in four wheel drive it would pull hard left. So, I put it up on the lift and noticed the left axle had popped out. I tried to get it back in, but it just wouldnt budge. Any suggestions...without actually pulling the axle out?? Is there a notch so it only fits one way, or is there a high probability of the splines on either the axle or front dif being wasted?? And what are the chances of this happening all over again, even if I do manage to get it back in? Im not really sure how long it has been driven like this by the previous owner.

I had the exact same problem with my 91 Jimmy. I had to unbolt the flange to expose the spline and line it up to fit however I found this out after I tried jamming it in with force and to make a long story short had to replace the entire differential