Marsha's Musings: "This Is Not an Act of God" said of the New Zealand Earthquake

The pastor of the cathedral in New Zealand made these comments on the radio the other day: "This is not an act of God.  This is the earth just doing what the earth does. It moves. People coming to other's aid and helping others is the act of God."

I have been musing over this statement for some time this week.  I can understand his need to portray God as a god who would never do anything like this---one who is all love.  Yet, I have difficulty reconciling this with what the Bible teaches about God's sovereignty and power.  It says the following:

Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (NIV)

If it is true that the earthquake or any other disaster that happens is not an act of God, does it follow then, that there are things that are quite out of God's sovereign control?  Can this be possible if God is sovereign over all?  If there are things out of His control, then it follows that He is not all powerful nor sovereign.  Is this the God of the Bible?  Is this the kind of god you want to believe in---one that has no control over the difficulties that you face?

I realize it is hard to reconcile the fact that God is responsible for things like earthquakes.  We want to believe that God is all love and nothing else.  We want to believe that He isn't capable of causing bad things to happen, let alone allowing it knowingly.  We want to blame all the bad stuff on Satan.  But we forget that it was God that gave Satan permission to cause all the disaster that befell Job.  Yes, Satan caused it, but God was ultimately responsible for letting it happen, so it was an act of God, for Satan can do nothing without the permission of the Almighty to begin with.

I would much prefer to believe in the God of the Bible who is in control of all that happens to me, be it good or bad, then the god so many believe in who is all love but has no control over anything.  The God of the Bible is in control of all the details of my life and all the bad things that happen in my life are carefully orchestrated by Him for a good purpose either in my life or in the lives of those around me.  It is all an act of God.