The two lenses of deliverance that MUST be understood

The Two Lenses of Deliverance that must be understood

Deliverance is not just about what we come out of. It’s also about what we are brought into. There are two lenses of deliverance that must both be embraced in order to walk in wholeness: deliverance from what has hindered, and deliverance to who you really are.

One without the other is incomplete. If you’re only focused on getting free from something, you can end up circling the same mountain of inner brokenness over and over again. Read that again.

But if you try to skip the process of deliverance altogether and jump straight into destiny, you build on a shaky foundation, unable to carry what you’re called to walk in.

Jesus delivers us from bondage, YES! But He also delivers us to purpose. And we were never meant to focus on one at the eclipse of the other.

Deliverance From: Removing the Obstacles to Discipleship

This first lens of deliverance is what most people think of when they hear the word. It’s about being set free from the things that oppress, possess, suppress, and sabotage. The sin cycles, generational patterns, soul wounds, demonic influences, and internal agreements that distort our perception and derail our path.

This kind of deliverance is essential. It’s not optional. Jesus cast out demons, confronted inner torment, and restored fractured identities. But the goal was never just to be “unbound.” It was always to be made whole, to return to the image-bearing identity that had been hidden or stolen.

Some symptoms of getting stuck in this lens:

• You feel like something is always broken inside of you.
• You never feel quite ready or whole enough to step forward.
• You’re constantly going through inner healing, but never walking out lasting freedom.
• Your Christian life is centered on maintenance instead of mission.
• You begin to define your relationship with God by the pain you’re trying to fix rather than the purpose you’re called to fulfill.
  

The enemy loves when we believe the lie that healing is the final destination. He’s happy for you to be in constant need of inner work if it keeps you from fruitful partnership with heaven. But Jesus didn’t just come to get demons out of you, but rather that He might reveal destiny within you.

Deliverance To: Stepping into Authentic Identity and Destiny

The second lens is just as important, and just as neglected.

Being delivered to your authentic self is about discovering who you are now that you are free. It’s stepping into the true you—without shame, without fear, and without distortion. It’s walking boldly into your purpose, carrying the authority of one who knows they’ve been sent. Gone or the patterns, and what comes into view is incredible promise.

See, It’s not enough to stop sinning. You need to start walking…and then running and finally, FINISHING! Whole people finish well.

The gospel isn’t just rescue; it’s reinstatement. You’ve been invited back into the family business. That’s why the Father puts a robe, a ring, and sandals on the prodigal’s feet. Not just to say, “You’re home.” But to say, “I am ready to begin trusting again so we can go somewhere together in destiny.”

Some symptoms of ignoring this lens:

• You minimize the need for healing or spiritual formation.
• You live as if deliverance is for “those people with issues.”
• You try to prove your calling through performance instead of identity.
• You expect authority without submission and clarity without surrender.
• You believe that maturity is about ignoring the past rather than redeeming it.

This is how people end up with spiritual gifts but no spiritual depth. They’re activated before they’re healed. And when trouble comes, they don’t have the root system to remain.

The Bridge Between the Two: Authentic Discipleship

Jesus didn’t separate these lenses. He wove them into the very beginning of His call to the disciples. When He walked up to those first fishermen, He didn’t tell them to go clean themselves up first. He didn’t start with theology or deliverance ministry or personality assessments.

He said, “Drop your nets and follow Me.”

And they did.

Those nets represented more than a career. They represented who they thought they were. Those men had already been passed over by the rabbis. They weren’t chosen to go deeper in Hebrew school. So they went back to fishing—the family trade, the thing that made sense, the identity they could manage.

But Jesus doesn’t recruit based on resumes. He calls people based on destiny.

In saying “follow Me,” He was not only calling them into a life of purpose, He was redoing their origin story. The nets had to drop so their hands would be free to carry His kingdom. That moment was a deliverance—from their false identity, from their failure, and from the voice that said, “You’re just a fisherman.”

And that moment was also a deliverance to—to walking with Jesus, to becoming fishers of men, to building what they were born to build.

Discipleship is the journey between the two lenses.

It’s where your brokenness is healed and your authority is formed. It’s where freedom and function are married in covenant. It’s where transformation happens so…

Let the Nets Fall

Maybe you’ve spent too long focused only on what’s wrong. Maybe you’ve been afraid to go back and face the places you still feel bound. Or maybe you’ve been waiting for the “right” moment to step into your purpose.

The invitation of Jesus is still the same.

Drop your nets, and let Him lead you all the way through.

Abandon who you thought you were. Let go of the version of yourself shaped by shame or success or survival. And follow the One who sees both your freedom and your future.

Because deliverance is not a detour from discipleship. It’s the doorway.

And destiny is not just about what you do—it’s about who you walk with on the way.

Next Step:

If this resonated with you, take a moment to ask:

• What have I been delivered from, and have I let that process finish its work?
• What am I being delivered to, and am I walking toward it with faith?
• Who am I walking with that is helping form Christ in me?

Because this walk was never meant to be done alone. And it was never meant to stop at “free.” Why? Because the goal, was to be whole.

Whole people walk in love, power, freedom, breakthrough.

This is who you are mean’t to be.