I played defense three out of four years of high school football.  One of the fundamental principles in playing defense is the importance of group tackles.  When your teammate grabs hold of the guy with the ball, you are to run to the place of action and “pile on.”  “Pile on” was actually a term our coaches used frequently.  There were times when five or six of us would pile on one fellow –it is called good defense.

     I have to admit, there have been times I have been on the other end of the pile; have you?  Have you ever felt like life and all of its problems just kept piling on?  Something causes you to stumble and before you know it, you are down on the ground; the devil cries out “Pile on!”  Financial hardship hits your life and you go to bed with worries; the devil cries out “Pile on!”  You have stress beyond imagination at work and you wonder if you should be somewhere else; the devil cries “Pile on!”  

     I remember those fellows at the bottom of the pile.  The only thing that saved them from being crushed was a whistle.  Somewhere on the sidelines the referee would came to their aid.  He didn’t always stop the “pile on” from happening, he just prevented them from being killed by it.  Our heavenly Father does the same. He knows when we have had enough, and He uses His power to relieve us from the weight of the pile on.