The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. – Psalm 18:2
One of the many Christian acronyms is F.R.O.G. Depending on who you ask it stands for Fully Rely on God or Fully Reliant on God. To most it means the same things but to others there is a subtle difference between the words rely and reliant.
According to the Free Dictionary, the meaning of rely is to be, to have, to place or to depend whilst reliant is having or showing. The word rely itself implies that it is something that you are going to do or will do. Relying means that we hope to put our confidence into something.
Being reliant indicates that we have already put our faith in something or someone. It is not the act of going to but having done. The hesitation that is in relying is gone and we have become involved in continually being dependent.
Some may argue that the difference between rely and reliant is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if you say you rely on God or that you are reliant on Him. However, to God there is a difference. Saying that you rely on God means that you want to depend on Him fully, but you are still in the process of doing it. When comparing the two words, reliant sounds stronger than rely. Rely has that air of maybe, a hesitation, as if you don’t quite fully believe. Reliant give the impression that there is no doubt.
Another aspect is that the word rely indicates that you expect something from God. You want Him to be your support or to help you out in times of need. There is an expectation that if you put your trust in Him, he will do what needs to be done. On the other hand, being reliant means that you know He will.
Whether you are relying or are reliant on God, you need to remember that God is remains the same. All he asks is for us to see Him as our stronghold, fortress, and deliverer. Seeing and knowing God as this does begin with relying but it ends with being reliant. It is a process that we all go through and as our hope in relying turns into our faith in being reliant, we grow into strong men and women.
God doesn’t want people who are forever in the process of relying on Him. Even though we do have to rely on Him in one sense, especially where our needs our concern, it is our faith that has to be reliant. A reliant faith is one of strength and knowing that we have already placed our confidence in our Lord and Saviour.
When you become fully reliant on God, then your life will not be in the process of hoping to but you will have already faithfully done it. The time has come to decide whether you keep relying or become reliant.
Originally published December 2019