It's easy to get wrapped up in the pressures of life. It's easy to become performance-oriented. It's easy to become constantly busy. It's easy to become consumed by guilt. It's easy to become preoccupied by status and success and fame and money.

For David Zahl, we could all use a lot of relief from all of these pressures. Also for Zahl, there's no bigger relief than the grace of God. Zahl takes a deep dive into these gift without an agenda and throws a spotlight on grace as one of the most vital contributions Christianity has to offer a worn-out world.

Zahl gently yet very intentionally guides readers toward a deeper understanding of the wonder and depth of grace and how it can so directly impact our daily lives. He explores the theology of grace in specific ways - freedom, play, surrender, humility, rest, surprise, and joy - and invites us, in essence, into a Christianity that is more refuge than race, peaceful journey than project.

What I most appreciate about "The Big Relief" is that Zahl writes it in such a way that its narrative rhythms feel just like the lessons he's trying to teach. "The Big Relief" feels more like pastoral care than some race toward understanding or some effort by Zahl to be impressive. It's Zahl sharing his knowledge, wisdom, and insight in a way that feels like a good friend leaning on your shoulder and reminding you that it's okay to rest.

"The Big Relief" is the kind of theological book that becomes a companion. It's the kind of book you look back at again and again when life gets you down or you just plain get worn out to remind yourself that relief is possible and that grace is how God reaches us over and over and over again.

I can't say I was necessarily blown away by "The Big Relief," but by the end of the book I found myself grateful for Zahl's literary journey that feels both incredibly relevant and timely.