I Want to Live

What does God do with a good ol’ southern boy taken captive by the demon of alcohol? He meets him at death’s door with love and forgiveness.

And that good ol’ southern boy—what does he do? He accepts that love and the transformation it brings. Here’s his story!

Scott grew up in church, and he never strayed from his commitment to his faith. But a friendship with alcohol developed into a deadly enemy that devastated him on a work trip in 2016. As a traveling member of his local union, Scott headed to California. Far from home and earning excellent money as a union electrician, he lost sight of his faith and wasted every cent in unholy pursuits.

Devastated to realize the power alcohol had over him, Scott vowed to never drink again. “I just knew I could never betray God or my family like that again. I began to seek God’s will, strength, and wisdom every morning. I would read a chapter of Proverbs, a devotion, and pray before the day got going.”

Scott thought the damage of alcohol was behind him. Soon an opportunity to take early retirement popped up, and he gladly took it. Life was good. Part of his routine was buying a meal each day from a next-door neighbor.

When Scott failed to come by two days in a row, the neighbors went to check on him. They found him lying unconscious in a pool of blood.

Emergency services came and rushed Scott to the hospital. As staff frantically searched for the cause of the excessive bleeding, his body began to shut down. Within five minutes he was put in a medically induced coma to keep him alive until family could come.

The shocking cause pointed back to Scott’s days of drinking: cirrhosis of the liver.

Loved ones came, and Scott held onto life but didn’t improve. Three weeks later, the hospital confronted his family with the dire news that it was time to remove life support. Scott’s mother, a nurse herself, understood all too well that danger of stripping a patient on life support. Whether Scott lived or died would be in the hands of God alone.

The following day found Scott still clinging to life. While in a semi-comatose state, Scott slipped into something like a dream. He felt like he was in a body of water when he felt something grasp his leg. In his head, he heard a voice, “If you want to die, swim down. If you want to live, swim up to the light.” Nursing staff later said this was the moment he erupted into consciousness—gasping for breath and screaming, “I want to live. I want to live.”

And in less than five months, the man who had been slated to die walked away from the hospital with the blessing of the staff. The liver specialist told him, “Mr. Johnson, you are the fastest-healing patient we’ve ever had. You are a miracle of God.”

Scott can’t stop telling people about this God who loves so deeply and meets you at your point of greatest need. Staying strong in faith takes work, but he is thankful for the resources and support he finds at Inspiration Ministries.

“God didn’t just heal me, He rebuilt me like new. All the parts of me that were damaged by the past have been made new! My liver, kidneys, lungs, eyes, everything. I want everyone to know God really is for them. I want to spend the rest of my life telling people about my Jesus.”