The Apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 1: 3-5… “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. He was also known for writing numerous letters to counsel other struggling people. His compassion for people that were hurting could be seen in his sermons, his lectures at university, and in his Bible commentaries and his other writings. With the compassionate heart of a pastor, Luther sought to bring spiritual counsel to struggling souls as often as he could. The song showcases Luther’s belief that God’s power can help all believers overcome great difficulties-even depression and other forms of mental illness. This hymn was originally written in German of course, and it is a celebration of Father God’s awesome power. My favorite has always been “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” But mental illness is not something to be ashamed of, any more than physical illnesses are.Īs Adams wrote about Luther’s depression, “Evidently he did not think it a shameful problem to be hidden.”Īt United Lutheran Church, my home church up North, we sang many of Martin Luther’s hymns. There are still people today, almost 500 years later, who feel this way. Many people in Luther’s day thought mental illness of any kind was brought on by demonic possession, and persons who suffered with these types of afflictions and diseases needed to be hidden away, or at least it needed to be kept hush-hush, and not spoken about. Evidently he did not think it a shameful problem to be hidden.” He suffered in this area for much of his life and often revealed these struggles in his works. He described the experience in varied terms: melancholy, heaviness, depression, dejection of spirit downcast, sad, downhearted. Martin Luther: “Luther himself endured many instances of depression. In the “Aquila Report,” May 17, 2016, Allan Adams wrote this about the Rev. Given his pastor’s heart, Luther sought to bring spiritual counsel to struggling souls in his parish and in his university responsibilities. Yet even with his personal struggles, he was able to continue his very successful public ministry and compassionate pastoral care. He prayed and studied the Word of God incessantly, looking for help from above and within. Luther struggled with his fear that he was not good enough to be forgiven by God, which only added to his depression. One thing that most people don’t know about the founder of the Lutheran Church, and one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, was the fact that he suffered with depression and anxiety for most of his life. Martin Luther was also a protestor who sought to reform certain aspects of the Roman Catholic Church.ĭue to his protests and a desire for reformation, Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Church by the Pope, but he stayed at the University of Wittenberg and taught theology and Bible courses for the rest of his career. Luther was a theologian, a prolific hymnwriter, and a Bible translator, translating the Latin Bible into German, making it accessible to the common person.Īnd the Rev.
The great man was a 16th century German Catholic priest, a parish pastor, a college professor with numerous degrees, including a Doctor of Theology. It wasn’t until I was in Bible College and studied Church History that I really learned who Martin Luther was.
We studied and memorized Luther’s Small Catechism, and we heard about the founder of the Lutheran Movement, the Rev. I was involved in the youth program, confirmed in the 9th grade, sang with the youth choir, and traveled the country with the drama and choir groups. I was what would be considered a “good Lutheran boy.” I was baptized Lutheran as an infant, dedicated to the Lord, raised attending Sunday school every week, then into the sanctuary for worship services. The decision was made early on that the Dezotell children would be raised Lutheran. And my father (half French and half Norwegian) was raised Catholic by his French mother. My Norwegian mother was raised in Lutheran Church by her Norwegian immigrant parents. I was also raised in a religious home, a Christian home. Raised in a predominantly Scandinavian community in North Dakota was wonderful.
#MIGHTY FORTRESS DOOM SURE SERIES#
(The last episode in a series for National Mental Health Awareness Month)
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