A. God often sets up special circumstances to show His will:

2SAM 5:22. And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.

2SAM 5:23. And when David enquired of the LORD, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.

2SAM 5:24. And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the LORD go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.

2SAM 5:25. And David did so, as the LORD had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.

MAR 14:12. And the first day of unleavened bread, when they killed the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?

MAR 14:13. And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water: follow him.

MAR 14:14. And wheresoever he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

MAR 14:15. And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.

MAR 14:16. And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

LUK 22:7. Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the passover must be killed.

LUK 22:8. And he sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us the passover, that we may eat.

LUK 22:9. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?

LUK 22:10. And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in.

LUK 22:11. And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?

LUK 22:12. And he shall shew you a large upper room furnished: there make ready.

LUK 22:13. And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover.

B. Sometimes obvious circumstances indicate God's leading:

1COR 16:9. For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

2COR 2:12. Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,

REV 3:8. I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

LUK 10:8. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:

LUK 10:9. And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

MAT 10:11. And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.

C. Examples of open doors:

ACT 8:30. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

ACT 8:31. And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

ACT 8:32. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

ACT 8:33. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.

ACT 8:34. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?

ACT 8:35. Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

ACT 13:7. Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.

ACT 13:14. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

ACT 13:15. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.

ACT 13:16. Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.

ACT 17:18. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.

ACT 17:19. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is?

ACT 17:20. For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.

ACT 17:21. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.)

ACT 17:22. Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.

JOH 2:1. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

JOH 2:2. And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

JOH 2:3. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

JOH 2:4. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

JOH 2:5. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

JOH 2:6. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

JOH 2:7. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

JOH 2:8. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

JOH 2:9. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

JOH 2:10. And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

JOH 2:11. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

D. Gauging circumstances & conditions & acting accordingly:

1KI 17:1. And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

1KI 17:2. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

1KI 17:3. Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

1KI 17:4. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

1KI 17:5. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

1KI 17:6. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

1KI 17:7. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

1KI 17:8. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,

1KI 17:9. Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

MAT 12:14. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

MAT 12:15. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;

LUK 10:10. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,

MAT 10:14. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

JOH 7:1. After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.

JOH 11:53. Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death.

JOH 11:54. Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples.

ACT 8:1. And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.

ACT 8:4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.

ACT 14:5. And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,

ACT 14:6. They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about:

ACT 20:3. And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.

ACT 20:6. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.

ACT 27:9. Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them,

ACT 27:10. And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.

ACT 27:12. And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter; which is an haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north west.

ACT 27:13. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.

ACT 27:14. But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.

ACT 27:15. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.

E. Circumstances are not always an indication of God's will: Sometimes you just need to have faith:

EXO 14:9. But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.

EXO 14:10. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.

EXO 14:11. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

EXO 14:12. Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

EXO 14:13. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

EXO 14:14. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

EXO 14:15. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

EXO 14:16. But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.

2KI 7:1. Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

2KI 7:2. Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

2KI 7:18. And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:

ECC 11:4. He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

JER 1:6. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

JER 1:7. But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

MAT 14:15. And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.

MAT 14:16. But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

MAT 14:17. And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

MAT 14:18. He said, Bring them hither to me.

MAT 14:19. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

MAT 14:20. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

MAT 14:21. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

MAT 15:32. Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

MAT 15:33. And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?

MAT 15:34. And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

MAT 15:35. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

MAT 15:36. And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

MAT 15:37. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

MAT 15:38. And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

F. Have faith & don't look at the waves & conditions:

MAT 14:30. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

MAT 14:31. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?

MAR 2:2. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.

MAR 2:3. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four.

MAR 2:4. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay.

MAR 2:5. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

LUK 5:5. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

LUK 8:49. While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.

LUK 8:50. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

JOH 11:39. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

JOH 11:40. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

2COR 5:7. (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

HEB 11:23. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.

HEB 11:24. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;

HEB 11:25. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;

HEB 11:26. Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.