Nothing beats experience, that's for sure. It creates not only unshakeable faith, but a way to constantly surrender to God over and over again.
On the other hand, we are ALL fortunate.
The only difference between us, from a purely spiritual point of view, is how much drama each of us wants.
For example, this guy needed a lot of drama. But ask yourself - do you want that level of drama? God speaks to us constantly, at every level. If we catch the subtleties, we will be led with subtleties, into ever deeper and more profound connections with God. If we want crudities - drama - well, it doesn't seem that God has any problem at all giving us any level of drama that will do the job.
Personally, I do a LOT of praying for the Grace not to need ANY drama. Granted, I haven't turned into a ball of light yet - but it beats the alternative direction.
Let no one deceive you about the primacy of the Word of God......