Many years ago, my sister had a boyfriend named Will Powers. No kidding! His parents likely named him that not just for humor but because they believed in the power of our will to accomplish whatever we hope to, become whatever we desire to, and resist whatever we shouldn’t do.

The problem is, what do we do when our will runs out of power? When the temptation overpowers our will? When we feel like giving up because no matter how much we want it or will it, we’re still not getting any closer to fulfilling our dream, or even getting done what we need to today?

Like my friend who recently admitted her battle-fatigue and failure to resist compulsive eating whenever she feels stressed, worried, or upset. “I feel so tired of fighting it! Why try? I’m going to end up eating anyway!”

Or our friend who years ago decided the struggle against same-sex attraction was too wearying and overwhelming for him—he couldn’t change his orientation, no matter how hard he tried. So, why not admit that he was gay, be done with the struggle, and live more comfortably without it?

How about those of us who have given up on our dreams and settled for less than what we once thought was our God-given calling? We’re tired of the disappointment and discouragement associated with the lack of fulfillment, too many obstacles and barriers between us and living into it. We figure either we heard Him wrong, maybe it was just our own crazy desire, or we disqualified ourselves somehow, or circumstances and other people derailed us, or the Lord changed His mind for reasons known only to Him.

Giving in or giving up— either way, it shows us willpower alone doesn’t work.

How do we avoid these?

By focusing on God. Not on the temptation, not on the goal or dream, not on the problems, not on whatever’s causing us to give in or give up. Sure, all of those exist, and are real pressures and triggers on our minds and hearts. We can’t deny them. But we don’t have to focus on them. What we focus on determines our viewpoint, which affects how we fee, which, when negative, creates a strong drive toward a harmful response. That drive, as we’ve seen above and in our own lives, often overpowers our willpower. Anger, hurt, passion, despair, etc., are very strong emotions that override our ability to think straight and drive us to do stupid things.

What we focus on becomes the thing that takes up space in our minds and hearts. Everything else becomes background noise, distant, indistinct, insignificant to us. Like a portrait photo with a blurred background.

That’s why the famous hymn encourages us to—“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Col. 3:2

When we focus on Him, we see Him as He really is, we think about, meditate on, and dwell on that. We realize, for those of us who’ve given our lives to Him and have Him dwelling within us, that His resurrection power is our resurrection power. We just have to let it flow freely in and through us.

So, how do we focus on Him to set His resurrection power into motion?

One way is to put reminders of Him in the places that trigger temptation, versus reminders of the issue or temptation itself. For example, I suggested to my friend that she put a note on her refrigerator door that says, “Jesus Loves You!”, instead of “Don’t eat!” The latter would only make her think about eating, all the stuff in there to eat, and why it’s so hard not to eat. The former would remind her of Jesus being with and for her, helping her, not shaming her, and giving her both power and reasons to see why she doesn’t have to eat to feel better.

Another way is to spend time in awareness of His presence, listen to what He has to say, and ponder that. He’s always there with us, but too often we’re going about our busy day and ruminating about our troubles, issues, to-do-lists, etc., and forget to count Him in. It’s not that we have to stop doing what we need to. Just remember He’s there, thank Him for that, and intentionally let Him guide us.

And yes, take focused, special, time, to enjoy and bask in His presence, getting to know Him better through reading the Bible, letting it read us, “marinating” in His message to us through it, prayer (both talking and listening), and worship (exalting Him for Who He is and what He’s done).

“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” Ps. 119:15

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” Jas. 4:8

Just as with anyone, we get to know Him more by spending time with Him, and the more we know Him, the more we trust Him, and want to pay attention to (focus on) Him. We fall in love with people this way, with this result. Why not do the same with our Heavenly Father, Jesus Messiah, Holy Spirit?

Another way is to celebrate the victories, versus where we’ve fallen short and/or failed. The latter makes us give up and say “what’s the use of trying?”, either to resist temptation or get done what we need to. The former encourages us as we see how the Lord has helped us win and will continue to do so.

No one wants to keep losing, so we give up and/or give in, when we think about that. But it just takes one win to celebrate to turn that around. For example, suppose you’re trying to overcome angry retorts whenever you think someone has insulted you. You fail and fail. But one time you notice that you kept your peace. Celebrate that win. Say, “Hey, I did it! I didn’t snap at that person! Maybe I couldn’t speak kindly in return yet, but I didn’t sin with my tongue either! I can win with Your help, Lord! I’m not bound to angry retorts!” This leads to further and greater victories. And if we stumble and fail, get back up again. Remember that we’ve won!

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 Jn. 4:4

As we celebrate Resurrection Sunday, focus on the Lord. Receive His power to do His will. That beats willpower any day!