You have broken the chains of bondage in my life;

Still for so long I held on to those chains so tight,

I was terrified to let them go; 

The pain, shame and temptation,

Surrendering to sin and repenting time and again

These things were all too familiar,

My hunger and thirst were for You;

But in the end it would mean walking in the unknown of freedom…

When I surrendered completely to You, I did not know it was only in part;

In my brokenness I hadn’t experienced being whole and free in Christ

So time and again I surrendered, constantly striving to be free

But constantly having to ask forgiveness from sin,

Constantly consumed by impure, unholy or harmful thoughts

Hounded by my past,

Bound by chains of bondage…by my own free will

Choosing the familiarity of this bondage due to the fear of not knowing what freedom held

God used Mercy Ministries to open my eyes,

I did not need to hide the pain and the shame

Cutting, biting, constantly self-harming

Trying to self-medicate

Looking for ways to cope,

Fighting a fight I had no chance of winning on my own…

Jesus Christ is my hope,

Through my journey at Mercy He opened my eyes…

It is for freedom that I have been set free,

No longer holding onto these chains,

Letting go of sin and no longer living in shame,

Consecrating my life to you, this time in freedom

For the first time Lord, this surrender is of me whole,

Im no longer asking You to take away the pain,

to stop my thoughts from continuing to stray

Now in freedom I choose to focus on You,

With Your strength, by Your grace I no longer need the chain

My trust and love for You is enough

And in the end…the unknown of freedom far outweighs the familiarity of bondage

Thank You Jesus for Your transforming power,

It is for freedom that I have been set free!

If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm, download this free e-book