Macro code to check for text in a cell before running farther into the macro code

[Snake Eyes]

I have a macro that changes the text and formatting of a cell to indicate if the worksheet is protected or not.
When I run the protection macro it runs fine however, If that button is clicked again I get this error...

I'm trying to piece together code from a somewhat similar macro to bypass the error and stop the macro from running if clicked by mistake after the worksheet has already been protected.
i.e. The cells already contain the text "Protected".

This is what I have so far...

Sub Protect_Positions01_10()
'
' Protect_Positions01_10 Macro
'
'   Sets Up the Indicator Cell
With Range("I2:K3")
    Dim IllegalCharacter(1) As String, i As Integer
    IllegalCharacter(1) = "Protected"
For i = 1 To 7
If InStr(.Text, (IllegalCharacter(i))) = "Protected" Then
    MsgBox "The worksheet is already protected."
Exit Sub
End If

    Range("I2:K3").Select
    ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = "Protected"
    Range("I2:K3").Select

This code doesn't actually stop the macro when the cells contain "Protected".

There's likely something simple I'm missing or maybe even a better way.
Thanks for any assistance.

 

[Z51]

Not sure what all that code is for, when it seems you could just use

If Range("I2").Value <> "Protected" Then
    'do something
End If

 

[Snake Eyes]

Thank You Z51.
I figured I was overcomplicating things.
This is the final code that works...

If Range("I2").Value = "Protected" Then
MsgBox "The worksheet is already protected."
Exit Sub
End If