"The Day The Locks Were Changed"

I got an email today from a friend of mine who pastors Legacy Outreach here in Spartanburg. He's preaching a series of sermons on addictive behavior and God gave him this poem Sunday morning. It is such a visual of how we get into situations that we never thought possible when we step away from God's grace and try to live a religious life instead of one that is powered by the Holy Spirit of God living within me, when I begin to live in secret instead of in the Secret Place of the Almighty God. I asked him if I could share this with all of you because maybe there is someone out there that could use this warning. Thank God for His grace, His mercy, His restoration and His kindness, which as the Bible teaches, is what brings us to repentance.


"The Day The Locks Were Changed"

I had a place that no one knew
That I would often go.
It all began as innocent;
At least, I thought it so.

It started out an empty room
No furnishings, all swept.
But soon I had it all fixed up
Where secret things are kept.

I could leave at any time
Because I had the key.
But what I didn't realize
The prisoner was me.

One day, when I went inside
Things had been re-arranged.
Something here was different;
The locks had all been changed.

Birthed in curiosity,
Fed by selfish greed;
My secret world had just become
A place for all to see.

This place that used to bring me joy
Where I could slip away
Has now cost me an awful price
That I can never pay.

My family all have broken hearts;
Relationships dismembered.
And now all of the good I've done
Will never be remembered.

If I'd believed the Word of God,
What's written on its pages;
I would have known I'm not exempt
From paying Satan's wages.

Manning Strickland, 2009

***If you would like to share this with someone else, please be certain to give Pastor Manning credit for it! Thanks!