Experiencing God through terminal cancer

ST. GEORGE, UTAH – Dr. Robert and Janice Adams’ familiarity with Experiencing God’s teachings began earlier than most. In 1976, the couple spent time in Saskatoon, Canada, while Robert Adams was on sabbatical from Colorado State University. For three months, they attended Faith Baptist Church where Henry Blackaby was serving as pastor.

“God used that experience to change the focus of our lives,” Janice Adams said.

When Experiencing God was released in 1990, the Adams were some of the first people to study the material and share it with others.

“I have led the study at least 30 times,” Janice Adams said. “God has used Experiencing God and the Blackaby family to impact us in so many ways. As we incorporated those seven realities into our lives, we were never the same again. The perspective God gave us through the years has made life an exciting adventure wherever we are and whatever we are going through.”

Last summer, Janice Adams led a group of teenage girls through the study at her church in St. George, Utah. Through that experience, she strongly sensed God telling her He wanted to work through her.

Then, in October 2020, Robert Adams was diagnosed with terminal mesothelioma. Doctors told him he had only a few weeks to a few months to live.

“I held on to that first reality that God is always at work around us, and He would show us where He is working so we could accept His invitation to join Him,” Janice Adams said. “Now He was sending us into a different mission field for a short time.”

That mission field included charter pilots, medical professionals at the hospital, and hospice care providers.

“Throughout this process, we saw God at work,” Janice said. “God continued to pursue a love relationship with us that is real and personal.”

She said God has shown her new dimensions of that love relationship through these challenging circumstances.

“People in our church kept asking if there was something they could do,” she said. “I always told them that we were fine for now. But 1 Corinthians 12:21 reads, ‘The eye cannot say to the hand, I don’t need you! And the head cannot say to the feet, I don’t need you.’ As God spoke to me, He pointed out that this verse describes exactly what I had been saying.”

She said she wanted to act on what God had told her, so she asked some church members to come visit and bring a word from scripture for her. She realized she needed to accept her church’s support.

Robert passed away on December 2, 2020. Members of the BMI team were honored to attend the funeral service in Utah.

“Bob Adams was one of the finest laymen I have ever known,” Henry Blackaby said. “He was always positive. Always helpful. Always prepared to make a positive difference. God used him and his wife, Janice, to bless Marilyn and me greatly and to strengthen the ministry of our church at a critical time.”

Despite the challenges and loss she has experienced in the past several months, Janice Adams has chosen to focus on God and His activity all around her.

“I have come to know God in a fresh way as I have obeyed Him in this journey,” she said. “I pray He is accomplishing His work in and through my life in this time.”