“Let’s not take this verse in simple terms,” he warned, opening Psalm 121. “I will lift my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? This verse means a lot. It teaches a lot. As men, we need to understand its essence.”
The mountains men carry
Major Bulawayo explained that the Psalm was not poetry written in comfort, but a song of pilgrims walking to Jerusalem – sun scorching, roads dusty, obstructions on every side, yet eyes fixed on Mount Zion where God dwelt.
“That is us. Life is a journey,” he said. “As men, we are carrying mountains.”
He unpacked those mountains: the isolation of a man surrounded by people but with no one to confide in, the pressure of family challenges, debts that keep a man awake at night, and kutambura uri mukati – suffering inwardly while smiling outwardly.
“We need men who are strong. Men who are prayerful. Men who are spiritually connected to God. We must have a positive mindset as we begin this congress and not waste time.”
A message for such a time as this
The sermon could not have come at a more urgent time. Media in recent weeks has been awash with horrifying stories of couples murdering each other – marriages ending not just in divorce but in blood.
Into that darkness, Major Bulawayo’s voice rose with a prophetic alternative.
He spoke first of the diaspora heartbreak – marriages that left Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport full of hope, hands clasped, praying together for a better life abroad, only to collapse in foreign lands.
“Our brothers left with great hope together with their wives. But suddenly marriages are collapsing in foreign lands. Why? Because family foundations are under attack by new laws, new rights, and spirits that break homes,” he said.
Then, looking across the arena, he addressed men closer to home who are secretly contemplating divorce.
“To those men who are thinking of quitting their marriages – lift your hands to the mountains. Quitting is not the answer,” he declared.
You could feel the silence.
“Marriage itself is a mountain. But you don’t abandon the mountain. You lift your eyes above it. Your help will not come from quitting. It will not come from a lawyer. Your help comes from Mount Zion.”
Why we must sharpen each other?
Quoting Proverbs 27:17 – “Iron sharpens iron” – the Regional Coordinator said that is exactly why this congress exists.
“We have come to be a fountain of love that sharpens each other without hatred. One man alone is weak. That is why our brothers are falling – they are alone.”
He warned bluntly about “bad apples” that weaken brotherhood – men who borrow money and never repay, whose reputation of dishonesty follows them to the extent that creditors for them even at funerals.
“Are you the one sharpening your brother? Or are you the one weakening the fellowship? We must also be wary of false teachers and fake gods – the gods of money and connections that do not answer.”
“We are sick and tired of praying to gods that do not answer,” he said, recalling Elijah mocking the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. “We need just one word from God. One word will change your issues.”
He closed in Shona, like a father counselling his sons: “Kana zvikarema tiri pachirangano. Usarasikirwa neMount Zion. Usapotsa target.”
When it becomes hard, remember you are in covenant. Don’t lose sight of Zion. Don’t miss the target.
Then under the open sky at the Show Grounds, he asked every man to lift his hands where he stood – wounded hands, tired hands, hands tired of holding a family, a debt, a secret pain.
“Say with me: Lord, bring the right people into my life. Lord, make me again.”
