Gentle and Lowly by Dave Ortlund — I can’t think of a better book to start off my book reviews with than this one.

I got this book for Christmas last year, and I finished reading it a little over a month ago. It’s especially comforting as a perfectionist who tends to push myself in everything I do, but it’s also “a book for normal Christians” as Dave Ortlund described it. The introduction describes the book as,

“Written for the discouraged, the frustrated, the weary, the disenchanted, the cynical, the empty. Those running on fumes. Those whose Christian lives feel like constantly running up a descending elevator. Those of us who find ourselves thinking: ‘How could I mess up that bad — again?’ It is for that increasing suspicion that God’s patience with us in wearing thin. For those of us who know God loves us but suspect we have deeply disappointed Him… who wonder if we have shipwrecked our lives beyond what can be repaired.”

If any of that describes you, or if you’ve ever felt that way, I’d encourage you to read this wonderful book.

Gentle and Lowly was voted Book of the Year in 2020 by at least four organizations/people, and is endorsed by Christians like Rosaria Butterfield, Ed Welch, Paul David Tripp, and D.A. Carson. It’s 23 chapters, but each individual chapter is worth spending time thinking on.

I’d give this book 5+ stars for biblical truth, encouraging reminders, a loving tone that doesn’t dumb anything down, and lots of “highlightable” quotes.

Gentle and Lowly is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Crossway, if anyone’s interested in buying it online! Let me know if you’ve read the book and what you thought — I absolutely loved it.

(And here’s the official blurb for anyone who’s interested <3 )

Christians can easily feel that Jesus is perpetually disappointed and frustrated, maybe even close to giving up on them. They know what Christ has done for them—but who is he? How does he feel about his people amid all their sins and failures?

In Matthew 11, Jesus describes himself as “gentle and lowly in heart,” longing for his people to find rest in him. This book reflects on his words, diving deep into Bible passages that speak of Christ’s affections for sinners and encouraging believers as they journey, weary and faltering, toward heaven.