Puana speaks hope amidst hopelessness

Weekender
FAITH

By Rev SEIK PITOI
THE difficulties and challenges relating to the deadly coronavirus or Covid-19 pandemic that surfaced in 2020 greatly affected the lives of people all across the globe.
A year on, mankind’s war with this invisible foe continues. The “new normal” is truly a great shift away from what was the usual way of life to a strange and quite uncomfortable one.
However, it has become necessary to adjust in order to survive in this wold which has to learn to live with the pandemic. Controls on the movement of people and cargo have caused great inconvenience, loss of business for many, and economic downturn in nations, including our own. Sadly, escalating unemployment and poverty ensue. This sense of despondency, hopelessness and despair has, in some extreme cases overseas, even caused people to end their own lives. Is there any hope?
One of our own young entrepreneurs, Evangelist Wari Puana, has been through similar ordeals in the past. He says going through this pandemic can either make or break you.
Much depends on faith
As he points out, a lot depends on one’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Wari is the fourth child of late Deacon Ravu and retired deaconess Lea Puana, one of the founding deacons at the Boroko United Church who hail from Gavuone village in Central. A prominent speaker in his region at crusades, fellowships and youth camps, this young man runs a successful construction business which is accredited to the Bank South Pacific (BSP).
However, despite the success, the journey has not always been smooth sailing. Here, he shares his testimony and some words of encouragement to our readers:
I believe that in the midst of all these challenges and situations, God is working out a miracle for every individual in this time. These are defining moments and we can only walk through by God’s grace and love. Isaiah 50:10 says, “All of you that honour the Lord and obey the words of His servant, the path you walk may be dark indeed, but trust in the Lord, rely on your God”. Psalms 30:5b also says “Tears may flow in the night but joy comes in the morning.”
God used these two scriptures to lead my family through some very dark moments in our lives a few years back. I believe those moments we experienced back then were a bit similar to what many are going through in this time of Covid-19 pandemic. At that time, problems and pain just suddenly came upon us and almost toppled us. I thank God because without Him and His grace, I wouldn’t be here today. So be encouraged and do not give up. These are hard trying times but they will surely pass by.
Our experience happened 25 after I began walking with the Lord in 1992. That was the year I made the decision to follow Christ as a 14-year-old boy whilst a student at Coronation Primary School.
After I completed my educational pursuits, I started up a business. I had prayed, fasted, and worked very hard at my business. We saw God begin to bless us in many ways. However, just when I thought all was well and I was looking forward to expanding our business and ministry, things started to go down.
We began to fall back in many of our bills and rentals and the business started sliding downhill. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months but we still couldn’t see any light. The pain in my heart knew no bounds and started to take a toll on me. Fear and uncertainty started flooding my mind. Many times the thought of what I would answer my kids if we lost everything was tearing me apart. This was truly a dark period in our lives.
It was at this moment that I felt I could somehow relate to the miseries of Job when he said in Job 19:8 “He has set darkness in my paths”. But God being a good God, turned up on the 11th hour and enabled us to move on. Praise be to Him only.
Our struggles didn’t stop there, though. There were other payments and commitments still outstanding. There was this particular time where we came to an absolute empty stage again. I tried all avenues but with no success. I had to call my wife and tell her that with all possible doors closed, I was returning home empty.
Many fathers and mothers would know this painful experience. Those moments where you can’t help but bury your face in your hands and sob bitterly. I had never felt so broken in my life before. I gathered myself after some time and felt the need to do something. I humbled myself before God there and then in the car and asked Him for His intervention and mercy because there was no one but Him at that moment. As I said Amen to that prayer, my phone rang. A client called and said, “I’ve just done a payment for two of your drawings, please confirm once you check at your end.”
After we hung up, I sobbed uncontrollably as I felt the deep embrace of this loving and gracious God who never fails us. Although He did not rush to wipe out all our problems in one, He surely came in His own timing to solve one problem at a time.
I had always trusted God since my childhood days but I felt these were moments and experiences where God was deepening and maturing my faith for the journey ahead. He was taking me through these moments to learn and experience humility, and to deepen my trust in the God who holds my life in His hands.
In the lowest and darkest moments
I’ve come to understand that sometimes it is in our lowest and darkest moments that we turn to God and seek Him earnestly. Look at Samson for example. In Judges 16:28, the Bible says that Samson called to the LORD, saying, “O Lord my GOD, remember me, I pray. Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes”.
What a passionate prayer Samson uttered during the darkest and the final moments of his life. Samson pleaded to the Lord, ‘please remember me’! What a moment of despair and desperateness it must have been for him.
Can you remember being in that kind of situation? Or are you going through a moment like that now? No job, business struggling, accounts empty, all possible avenues looked closed? Then look to the Heavens from where comes our help.
God is our only hope when we are at our lowest and darkest times. Even though Samson’s eyes had been plucked out, the Lord’s eyes were still fixed on him. With his eyes plucked away, head shaven, and bound up in chain in prison, that is when his spiritual eyes looked up to the Lord His Creator. God took notice of him – and avenged him!
So be encouraged. If you feel that you are going through a very hard or dark moment in your life, know that God hears your cry for help. He will move on your behalf.
I also found a lot of encouragement from Isaiah 50:10: “Who walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD.” There would come a time in our life when we would be engulfed in darkness, as we are experiencing with the Covid 19 Pandemic. There is no ray of light. But it is in these times that God wants us to trust in Him.
We need to understand that fearing, loving or obeying God does not mean we are exempted from suffering. But we are reminded of His grace and presence always. So long as He is there, we can be assured that despite these times of adversity, anxiety and dark moments, we will not be overwhelmed.
Through our experiences, my wife and I would search our hearts thoroughly for God. We were on our knees many days and nights pleading for God’s mercy and intervention.
God did intervene many times and matured us up in the process. We stopped praying for answers and just trusted and relied on Him to complete what He had started in our lives.
Up to this day, we have seen the hand of God many times but that does not mean we have succeeded. What we have come to understand is that sometimes God holds back or delays all the answers just for us to honour and recognise Him.
He brings tough times into our lives not only to bring us back to Him, but also to bring us back to ourselves. To get us to see the world the way He sees it. To get us to be more considerate and compassionate towards others. We come to that place only after we have been broken in humility and have allowed Christ full sovereignty over our lives.
Therefore, be encouraged. If you are running a business and are struggling, pray and fast – and work hard. Prayer alone will not do it. Working alone will not do it. Seek God and then do the work.
As a child of God, you are a ‘good man’ (or woman) whose steps are ordered by the Lord. Though you fall, you shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds you with His hands” (Psalm 37: 23, 24).
May those words of encouragement from a young evangelist-businessman encourage someone today.
Keep on trusting!

  • Rev Seik Pitoi is a freelance writer.