EP 78 | Laura Smith: Brave Woman, Mighty GodEP 78 | Laura Smith: Brave Woman, Mighty God
She Surrenders - The Podcast
Host Sherry Hoppen talks with author Laura Smith about how stories of women in the Bible speak to shame, addiction, and feeling unworthy. Their conversation highlights Jesus’ protective love, the power of testimony, and the hope that God can renew even the most broken stories.
35:16•10 May 2026
Brave Women, Mighty God: Finding Hope Beyond Shame and Addiction
Episode Overview
- Jesus meets people in their most shame-filled moments and says, “I don’t condemn you,” offering protection rather than punishment.
- All sins are equal before God, and for those who believe in Jesus, there is “no condemnation” and complete forgiveness.
- Stories like Gomer’s show that God keeps coming back for people who feel too far gone, buying them back again and again.
- Naomi’s shift from calling herself “bitter” to being part of Jesus’ family line shows that God can renew lives that feel finished.
- Sharing honest stories and testimonies is a key way God brings hope and comfort to others in pain.
“All this shame that we heap on ourselves… Jesus is saying, ‘I don’t condemn you.’”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation between host Sherry Hoppen and author Laura Smith leans straight into that question, especially for women of faith who feel buried under shame, guilt, or a messy past. Laura, an author, speaker and seminary student, isn’t in addiction recovery herself, but her book *Brave Woman, Mighty God* shines a light on biblical women whose stories echo the struggles of many in recovery today.
She shares the shocking scene of the woman caught in adultery, dragged out “naked in the front yard of your church,” then shielded by Jesus as he steps physically between her and her accusers. Laura reminds anyone who feels disqualified by addiction that Jesus says, “I don’t condemn you,” and that his “go and sin no more” comes from protection and care, not finger‑wagging.
They also talk about Gomer, the prostituted woman from Hosea, whose husband buys her back in a public marketplace.
Laura links this to the repeated ways God comes after people who keep ending up “in the muck,” saying Jesus “is going to keep coming back for you, and he’s going to keep paying for you because he wants to spend every day with you.” Naomi’s journey from calling herself “bitter” to becoming part of the family line of Jesus offers hope to anyone who thinks their story is over.
Along the way, Laura and Sherry touch on childhood trauma, Christian counselling, hymns as sung Scripture, and Laura’s small "Restore" retreats designed to pour back into tired women. If you’ve ever wondered whether God is tired of you, this conversation insists on a different picture: a God who shields, restores, and has better things planned than you can see right now. What if your story isn’t finished yet?
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