What's the difference between mental illness, a broken spirit and demonic possession? We sat down with pastor and apostle Alexander Pagani who works in deliverance ministry, and he is sharing his biblical insights to help shed light on what deliverance is and what it is not.

"First and foremost deliverance is not fighting the darkness it's turning on the light. It's total dependence on the Holy Spirit to deal with the root of the problem," Pagani says.

What is deliverance?

It is the military might of the kingdom of God destroying and removing strongmen in the kingdom of darkness. The entire purpose of salvation is to give followers of Jesus wholeness, while the purpose of the enemy is to break us into pieces.

Your soul can be whole or it can be fractured. "It can be broken in multiple pieces, now those pieces is where I believe Legion actually enter in," Pagani says.
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"When it's a malevolent entity, its goal is to always destroy you. Leading a person to committing the act of suicide. When it's emotional it leads to this perpetual place of depression or instability," Pagani says.

When there is a dark entity influencing someone, the goal is to push them off of the deep end. The difference with mental health is that it often feels like anguish and doesn't lead to the place of destruction.

What isn't deliverance?

God can lead believer's through seasons where He is breaking things off like pride and insecurity and it can feel like you are being attacked. The importance in telling the difference between God refining you and the enemy attacking you is the end goal.

God will always work to bring you back together stronger than ever, give you peace and a beautiful future. The enemy's goal is to steal, kill and destroy and will lead you down a path of deep darkness and depression.

Mental health issues can be fought through affirmations and natural tools to help realign your thought processes.