Luther's Fortress Against the Dark

Martin Luther knew darkness intimately. The great Reformer suffered crushing bouts of what he called Anfechtung — spiritual despair so heavy he could barely rise from his bed. In those seasons at Wittenberg, Luther felt abandoned, convinced that God had turned His face away. His wife Katharina once found him so despondent she dressed in black mourning clothes. When Luther asked who had died, she replied, "God, apparently — given how you're carrying on."…