Welcome to 15 Minutes in the Word with New York Times best-selling author Joyce Meyer.

On today's program, Joyce will be teaching from her series, pursuing what matters most.

Does it ever feel like we're chasing after something but never actually reaching it?

Maybe it's chasing after success or companionship or something else we feel we need for fulfillment.

It's not wrong to have desires, but what is our first priority?

Today, Joyce shares with us no matter what we're chasing,

we'll only find true joy and peace when we pursue him first.

Now, here's Joyce with the series pursuing what matters most.

I found myself in Luke chapter 5, so let's go there.

Shallow Christians wanting fruit, but not caring about the roots.

They want to be used, but they don't want to be prepared.

Yeah, some of those are worth writing down, folks.

Verse one, now it occurred that while the people pressed upon Jesus to hear the message of God.

He was standing by the lake of Janese red at the Sea of Galilee, and he saw two boats drawn up by the lake, but the fishermen had gone down from them and they were washing their nets.

And getting into one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon Peter, he requested him to draw away a little bit from the shore, and then he sat down and continued to teach the people from the boat.

When he had stopped speaking, he said to Simon Peter, put out into the deep water, you know,

deep is the opposite of shallow.

Just thought I'd mention that.

Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a hall.

Now, a haul. What is a haul? That's like back the dump truck up, make it a big one,

and unload it in my driveway. I'll be happy to haul it all in. Well, you know, when God's trying to deal with you about something, you don't need a lot of explanation. And so remembering that God had told me that I was shallow, and here I am going after all this stuff that I want, and none of it's really happening. And, you know, I got some things, but I'm still not happy. And so then God tells me I'm shallow, so now I'm reading this. Come on out into the deep and get ready for a hall. And Simon Peter answered, now you have to understand this next verse or you missed the whole point of this. Simon Peter answered, Master, we toiled all night.

We are exhausted.

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