Not All Influencers Are on Social Media

My Favorite Influencer 

While I was on a run, I passed a church billboard that read, “The Holy Spirit is our favorite influencer.” The message stayed with me.

We are being influenced all the time, especially now, in the age of social media, where people are literally called influencers.

Scrolling our feeds influences how we think, feel, and even what we believe. The algorithms then feed us more of what reinforces those thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.

We tend to seek out what confirms what we already believe — even when that belief is false. That is why it matters who — and what — we allow to influence us.

I use social media professionally to inspire others, but I know even mental-health and faith-related content can be influenced by algorithms and trends. What fuels me most is helping people one-on-one in therapy, where healing and freedom can be experienced personally.

Let’s look at how we are influenced not only by social media, but also by what operates beneath our awareness, and ultimately, how the Holy Spirit influences us in practical, day-to-day ways.

Our Unconscious Mind Influences Us

Biologically speaking, our brains are constantly influenced by our environment. Essentially, our brains are always scanning for information. But we do not take in that information neutrally; we filter it through beliefs we may not even realize we carry.

Every morning, we put on our beliefs much like we put on our clothes.

Then we move through the world noticing the information that supports what we already believe, while often overlooking what challenges it.

We use that carefully selected information to tell ourselves stories that reinforce the beliefs we carried into the day.

Over time, these beliefs can become so deeply ingrained that they quietly shape our relationships and the way we move through the world.

In my work with clients, I help them identify the stories, or lies, they have been telling themselves and bring those unconscious beliefs into the light.

For example, someone may carry the belief:

If I say no, people will be disappointed in me.

If I set a boundary, they will think I am selfish.

Another person may believe:

If I make a mistake, I am a failure.

If people really know me, I will be rejected.

If I am not needed, I am not valuable.

These beliefs may not be consciously chosen, but they quietly influence how we show up, what we tolerate, and what we feel responsible for. They can also be reinforced through our social media feeds, friendships, families, and even the voices we trust most.

Once these false beliefs are revealed, often with the help of a professional counselor, you can begin to see them for what they are. They may feel true, but they may not be the truth.

Until we learn to make the unconscious conscious, it will continue to influence our lives.

When truth is revealed, healing can begin. Often, truth is buried beneath our pain, covered by the lies we tell ourselves and, at times, the lies of the enemy.

And if our unconscious beliefs can shape how we see ourselves and the world, then spiritually, those beliefs can also become strongholds.

Strongholds Can Influence Us

Paul tells us in Romans to renew our minds and in Corinthians to take every thought captive. How we think influences what we believe, and what we believe ultimately shapes our choices and behavior.

In the original Greek, the phrase “taking every thought captive” carries the image of capturing prisoners of war — a picture of active restraint, not passive observation.

Not every thought is the truth.

Taking thoughts captive is not a one-time moment; it is a practice.

Our nervous system learns through repetition.

Healing often means practicing truth again and again until the mind begins to believe what we are choosing to think.

Earlier in the passage, Paul writes, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”

There is a connection between pulling down strongholds and taking every thought captive.

Strongholds are first established in the mind, which is why taking every thought captive matters.

So what is a stronghold?

Psychologically speaking, I describe a stronghold as a mental fortress built to protect us from anything we perceive as threatening or dangerous.

For example, a person may believe, I have to stay in control to be safe. Over time, that belief can become a stronghold.

It may have started as protection, but eventually it can keep them anxious, guarded, and unable to feel safe with God, themselves, or others.

Or someone may believe, I cannot fully trust anyone, and what once felt like wisdom can slowly become isolation.

A stronghold defends a personal belief against anything that feels like it might expose or undo it. 

But when we build these mental fortresses, we can become imprisoned inside the very structure we created to protect ourselves.

Strongholds are a form of personal bondage, first established in the mind and then fortified thought by thought.

Behind every thought is a belief we have come to accept as true. When that belief feels challenged, we often fight to protect it — reinforcing the stronghold.

The good news is that strongholds can be dismantled.

Just as we build them up, we can also tear them down, but it is a process because strongholds are not built overnight.

Like any fortress, it was built brick by brick, thought by thought — and it often comes down the same way.

It takes courage, perseverance, and often, professional help.

How do we move from thoughts that keep us stuck into truth that leads to freedom?

Experiential Truth Influences Us

You have probably heard this verse many times: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

According to this Scripture, it is not only truth that makes us free, but knowing the truth.

The original Greek word for “know” is ginōskō, which means to come to know, recognize, or understand — a kind of knowing that carries the idea of knowledge gained through experience or relationship.

That distinction matters because ginōskō can communicate more than intellectual awareness alone.

It can suggest:

• experiential knowing

• relational knowing

The idea is not merely, “You will learn a fact.”

But rather, “You will come to personally know and experience the truth.”

Intellectual knowledge in and of itself does not bring freedom, just as awareness alone does not lead to instant healing or transformation.

Many clients come to counseling after reading self-help books, listening to podcasts or sermons, watching videos, or attending conferences.

They may have gained helpful information intellectually, yet they still feel stuck.

Why? Because freedom and healing come through personal experience, not information alone.

The first step is acquiring knowledge — intellectual information rooted in truth.

The second step is coming to know that truth personally through experience.

As Ephesians 3:19 says, “That you may really come to know practically, through experience for yourselves the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience” (AMPC).

Paul is emphasizing a kind of knowing that goes beyond knowledge alone — a knowing that is experienced personally.

This process is not simple, easy, or one-time, which is why you may still notice certain patterns that do not fully shift.

How do we move from knowing truth intellectually to experiencing truth personally?

It happens through relationship — through the healing relationship with a therapist and through relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Which brings me back to the billboard: The Holy Spirit is our favorite influencer.

The Holy Spirit Influences Us

According to John 14:16, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as another Helper.

The word another comes from the Greek word allos, meaning “another of the same kind” — one just like Jesus.

In other words, the Holy Spirit continues to do in Jesus’ physical absence what Christ Himself would do if He were physically present with us.

Scripture describes the Holy Spirit as our Counselor, the Spirit of Truth, and God’s abiding presence within us — sent to comfort, teach, strengthen, intercede, and remind us of truth (John 14:16–17, 26; John 15:26).

The Holy Spirit is not distant or passive.

He guides us back to truth and wisdom when our minds become overwhelmed or when we begin operating from fear, distortion, or false beliefs instead of truth.

We were never meant to navigate life alone.

In His kindness, God gave us His Spirit to lead us and walk with us daily.

The Holy Spirit often speaks in ways that are deeply personal and creative — ways that reach beyond human intellect alone.

Sometimes His voice is not loud or dramatic, but quiet and unmistakable.

There are moments when something within us recognizes His voice — not merely as information, but as truth felt deep in the soul.

It may begin with a simple prayer: “Speak to me,” or “Show me what I need to see.”

Other times, it comes through a Scripture you have read a hundred times, and suddenly it feels alive — personal, timely, and meant for you in that exact moment.

The Holy Spirit may reach people through ordinary, unexpected places:

— nature

— the wisdom of a friend

— an unlikely remark from a stranger

— a television series or fiction book

— the comfort of a beloved pet

The Holy Spirit has a remarkable way of meeting us and revealing truth in ways that feel intimate and illuminating.

The Holy Spirit influences us not through pressure or noise, but through His presence, which is marked by peace.

We are being influenced all the time.

By our social media feeds.

By the beliefs we have carried for years.

By the strongholds we have built for protection.

And by the Holy Spirit, who gently draws us back to truth.

The question is not whether we are being influenced, but which influence we are allowing to lead us.

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Need help identifying the beliefs that are keeping you stuck? Get in touch to request a therapy appointment.