Bible Gateway Blog

How can a terminal diagnosis lead to experiencing God’s intimate, comforting, tangible presence? At middle age, John Paine thought he knew what it meant to have a relationship with God. But his journey into true, mystical intimacy with God began when a neurologist diagnosed him with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Bible Gateway interviewed John Paine about his book, The Luckiest Man: How A Seventeen-Year Battle with ALS Led Me to Intimacy with God (Thomas Nelson, 2018).

Describe your life before your diagnosis.

John Paine: From the outside my life looked fantastic as a successful business man, family man, and church leader. I projected confidence to the world at large, but inwardly life’s trials were crumbling the perfect projected image. I was weary keeping up the mirage. Peace, joy, and contentment were occasionally present but never lasted. Christ’s promised abundant life seemed illusive and I felt exhausted searching for it. Secretly, I was ready to give up on the concept.

Explain what amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is and what your symptoms were when they began.

John Paine: ALS is a degenerative neuromuscular disease that kills the muscle’s motor neurons resulting in total body paralysis. Most patients die from suffocation as the diaphragm loses its communication with the smart cells telling it to breathe. My first symptoms appeared as involuntary muscle twitches (fasciculations) in my left forearm followed by a loss of strength.

Continue reading →