Conflict... When the Story Gets Interesting: A Portion from Tell Me a Story

By Scott McClellan

Are you ever ashamed of the conflict in your story? Does your pride keep you from admitting when conflict is there?

Conflict is a part of every story, and in fact, it is one of the ways God communicates with us through our stories.

This short piece, taken from the book: Tell Me a Story by Scott McClellan, will talk through the conflicts we often face and speak truth we often forget in the midst of them.

Our circumstances are an unreliable barometer for determining who God is and how He feels about us. Learn how to look at conflict in your life in a healthier way.

Moody Collective Portions are short pieces of content taken from our full-length books. Our goal is to introduce our readers to a complete idea in a brief, concise, and inexpensive format. Most portions will take about 20 minutes to read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Release date: Dec 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9780802491336

Book preview

The following content is taken from Tell Me a Story, by Scott McClellan. If you own the full book already, you can find this section in chapter 5.

If you are interested in hearing more from the team that facilitated this adapted content, visit moodycollective.com.

conflict: when the story gets interesting

The best stories require all, not just a fraction, of a character’s might. Wouldn’t it be a shame to spend all we’ve got in the service of an unworthy objective?

IN MY FRONT YARD YOU’LL find ants and worms. Once during a great summer drought the worms grew desperate—their skin, their soil, their very existence was shriveling and dying. In their distress, the worms began praying fervently to God for rain. The worms prayed and they waited, wondering if He cared or if He could hear them.

ANTS AND WORMS: A PARABLE

Meanwhile, the ants were thankful to God for His provision. They subsisted on water from the sprinkler system and seized upon creatures who fell victim to the summer sun. God is good, they told themselves, from friend to friend and parent to child. Unlike the weary worms, the ant community was thriving. The general tenor of their prayers was gratitude—God was clearly on their side and the ants wanted to keep it that way.

One day, the clouds gathered, the skies darkened, and it began to rain. The ants were wary. A little rain was good, but a lot of rain meant trouble for the supply lines and structures they’d built. When the