Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Stop Living for “If Only” | The Gospels | Luke 5:1–11

Episode Date: March 24, 2026

What’s the “if only” you keep chasing? Why do we keep believing contentment is just one achievement, relationship, or outcome away? And what if Jesus is calling us into something bigger? In today’s episode, Tanya shares how Luke 5:1–11 shows that when Jesus fills Peter’s empty nets, he’s not just providing a miracle, but calling him from horizontal striving into vertical purpose. Read the Bible with us in 2026! This year, we’re exploring the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passage: Luke 5:1–11

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. Jesus calls us every single day to trust him and follow him. He asks, why do you try so hard to do things on your own? What are you trying to prove? It's another one of those things we all tend to do. We look at our schedules as opportunities to show that we are busy and productive,

and we look at our lives as horizontal responsibilities when the reality is that we have all been given vertical purpose. We look at the things we're called to do to give us meaning and fulfillment, and we perform those things with a list of if only statements. If only, I could get that group of people to include me. If only, I could be seen as a leader in my work. If only, I could be offered the position I have worked so hard for. If only, I could know how that person feels about me. If only I knew when I was financially stable enough to retire. If only I had, even one of these things, I wouldn't struggle anymore. I could be happy and I could be content. Then I will feel okay. Then. See, the problem is you and I try too hard to find this kind of

contentment in the created things that will never actually be able to deliver the sense of completion and rest that we crave. The more time and effort we spend, the more money we spend on them, the more they actually take from us. It's a spiral that makes us busy, overwhelmed, addicted, and empty. Until Jesus enters and calls us to a bigger purpose, opens our eyes to a bigger purpose, until Jesus says, listen to me, follow me, and get this, we believe him. This is where we find Simon called Peter in his fishing boat at the end of a long night on the water in Luke chapter 5. Have you ever been at a marina when the fishing boats come in for the day? There's a meticulous order to the way they wrap up their nets, the way they wash down their boats,

and the way they take care of everything that helps them in their livelihood. Picture this happening in ancient times with handmade nets that needed mending and something. securing for the next day, and a group of fishermen who came back with nothing to show for their labor. This is where we are in Luke chapter 5. And then something extraordinary happens. The day isn't really over. Jesus climbs into the boat and tells Peter to go back out onto the water. Peter might not have realized at the time that this was going to involve more fishing. It would have made sense for Jesus to climb into the boat and to ask Peter to push out from the shore so Jesus could teach. All the people who were crowding around would be able to hear him better as they sat up

on the hillsides and he preached from the boat in the water. But after that, Luke describes another point entirely to Jesus climbing in the boat. Luke says, when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, put out into deep water, and let down your nets for a catch. Now, would you be frustrated even slightly if you were Peter? You had already been out there all night and no fish were biting. And you are the expert in this fishing situation, not Jesus. He's a teacher and a carpenter. But Simon Peter shows some restraint and he says, master, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing.

but if you say so, I'll let down the nets. And then when they did that, they caught so many fish, they couldn't even bring them all in. They couldn't even keep them in the nets. In fact, the nets, Luke says, were breaking under the load of all the fish when the boat came back to shore. Now, these men had spent their entire lives on the lake.

They had seen good catches before, but nothing like this. And then Peter must realize this is not just about fishing, because Peter falls down at Jesus' knees, and says, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, oh Lord. It's a surprising response for a fishing situation, but in the bigger picture of who Jesus is, this is really the only response that makes sense. Because when Peter sees the power of Jesus as the creator to command the fish, he also must see the holiness of Jesus, because Peter suddenly becomes aware of his own weakness

and his own sin. Have you responded this way to Jesus? Have you let down your nets and made yourself open to do what he tells you to do, both in willingness and then follow through and obedience? Not because you want to be great, but because you witnessed the greatness of the Creator to step into your life and make things right with your heart that you can't fix on your own, and to make you part of his plan to spread the gospel with the whole world.

Now, Jesus says two things that are important to Peter from this point forward. He comforts him and he challenges him. First, he says, do not be afraid. And then, from now on, you will be catching people. Now, don't you think Peter must have had to come back to those words several times throughout his life. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Jesus said, do not be afraid.

From now on, you will be catching people. See, Jesus takes this fisherman and gives him a new purpose. Because from this moment forward, Peter will no longer spend his life just catching fish. He will spend his life bringing people to the good news of Jesus. So Jesus says to all those who follow him, to you, do not be afraid. From now on, you will be catching people. So go into your day with the understanding that I am the one in charge here. you work for me, as does all of creation, and I want you to work with me.

Where will you be tempted to perform today? What will you look to to give you a sense of accomplishment? What will tempt you with the lie that if you just had that one thing, you would be content? Why would you frantically look to these things, these created things, to give you what you've already been given in Christ? Why would you look to this broken world to be your helper and to be your Savior when Jesus, when Jesus has come to give you all the grace that you need for everything. Lord Jesus, we believe. Help us in our unbelief.

In the places today where we are tempted to build a life for ourselves, nudge us into dependence on you. Be in our lives in such a way that those around you see your power and your grace in us. Amen.