We Are Freed FROM So We Can Be Freed TO
By Dr. Keith M. Waggoner
Freedom is not a static state. It is not simply the absence of chains. True freedom is directional. It begins with what we are freed from but finds its true purpose in what we are freed to. The journey of the soul is never complete at the moment of release from the past; that is only the first step toward the life we were designed to live.
The ancient practice of confession is a powerful example. Confession points toward the past. It is the courageous act of naming what was wrong, broken, sinful, or heavy. Confession acknowledges the wounds we have carried, the mistakes we have made, and the burdens that have bent our backs. It is about releasing the grip of guilt, shame, and bondage. When done with honesty, it is like cutting the rope that has tied us to a sinking ship. Confession clears the ground, making space for something new to grow.
But here is the truth that is often overlooked: confession alone is not enough.
If confession frees us from, then profession frees us to. Profession is the purpose of confession. It is the forward motion, the building of a vision, the proclamation of who we will become and what we will create. While confession removes the debris of the past, profession lays the foundation for the future. This is why teachers at the highest level are called professors. They are those who publicly declare and articulate knowledge, shaping the minds of others toward what can be. To profess is to speak out, to declare openly, to set the tone for what comes next.
We are freed from the patterns that held us captive so we can be freed to profess a life of righteousness, prosperity, purpose, peace, passion, and yes, even profit. Confession is repentance. Profession is vision. One clears the rearview mirror. The other sets our eyes on the road ahead.
Our very bodies reveal this truth. Our eyes face forward, positioned like a predator’s, built for pursuit, not retreat. Our arms swing forward as we walk. Our stride is meant for progress, not stagnation. We were designed to move toward something greater. A life of freedom is not one that endlessly circles the drain of the past, but one that steps into the uncharted territory of what is possible.
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” – Proverbs 29:18
Psychologically, when you only confess, you risk becoming defined by what you have been freed from. It is easy to rehearse the story of your mistakes until it becomes the story of your life. But when you add profession, when you declare aloud and with conviction the kind of man or woman you will be, you rewrite your identity. Your mind begins to align with your words. Your relationships begin to adjust to your new direction. Spiritually, you begin to live as one who understands that what is bound on earth will be bound in heaven, and what is loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven. Profession is binding and loosing in action.
Relationally, the difference is profound. I once worked with a man who had been trapped in bitterness toward his wife. He confessed his resentment, his contempt, and his harsh words. This was important. It freed him from the corrosive posture that had been eating away at their marriage. But it was only when he began to profess—to speak her name with honor, to declare the kind of husband he would be, to envision the marriage they would share—that the light returned to his eyes and the tone of his voice transformed. His profession reshaped the future they were walking into together.
This is not wishful thinking. This is both spiritual law and practical psychology. What you repeatedly declare, you tend to believe. What you believe, you tend to act upon. What you act upon, you tend to create. Words are more than sounds. They are symbols of meaning, casting a vision into the physical, psychological, and spiritual realms. The teachers, prophets, and leaders of old understood this. That is why they guarded the tongue and spoke with intention. They knew that in speaking, they were programming reality.
So here is the charge: Do not stop at confession. Do not only be freed from. Be freed to. Step into the sacred practice of profession. Declare what will be. Speak the future as if it already breathes. Cast a vision for the life you were born to live. Let your words carry the weight of your identity and the trajectory of your destiny.
I coach men and women every day to live this way. My work is about helping people move beyond the chains they have broken and into the lives they were created to live. The goal is not merely to escape your past, but to embody the cry of freedom in every breath and step, like William Wallace on the battlefield, proclaiming “Freedom!” as the rallying cry for a life well lived.
Freedom is not just the absence of something. It is the presence of purpose. And the moment you understand that profession is the purpose of confession, you will realize that you are not just freed from. You are freed to.