The perfect example of this is from a comedian I heard one time. He said that he was going up to Stevie Wonder's hotel room because they were going to go out for dinner that night. After knocking on the door, Stevie told him to come in because the door was unlocked. Immediately after coming into the room, the comedian notices that the lights weren't on. He then asks Stevie what he was doing and Mr. Wonder replies that he was in the middle of shaving. Before he could stop the words from coming out of his mouth, the comedian says "How can you see what your shaving with all the lights off?". Stevie responded with a line that all those that are blind can agree with by saying "The lights are always off when you have no sight".
Many of us can agree that we have been in similar situations where our brain doesn't exactly match up with our mouth. I firmly believe the saying "Timing is everything" was created specifically to remind us in these situations that timing can actually cost us everything. If I would wait until the hot chocolate has had time to cool, the taste buds on the tip of my tongue wouldn't be burned beyond belief. If I had better timing on the brakes of my brain, maybe I wouldn't be wishing my waiter a pleasant meal and instead thank them for bringing mine to me. In our different daily situations, having bad timing can come back to bite you in the form of awkward silence or bodily pain (mostly caused by putting your foot in your mouth).
Now, I realize that I'm poking fun at instances in everyday life that don't have much impact on our future. But just like most forms of comedy, there is a grain of truth in it. When I am relying only on my own timing in life for big decisions or big opportunities, there is still that chance that I could make the wrong decision at the wrong time. There is still that possibility that I may be acting against the will that God has for my life, which brings us to the point I am trying to make. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time" and the last three words in that text are exactly the point. In HIS time, not in mine. Left to our own timing, our own planning, even our own thinking, we have a tendency to mess things up and lose opportunities. Through his will and plan though, we have the guarantee that it will come out beautifully. Regardless of the size of the situation or the preconceived problems, we must rely on God's timing and trust that he will turn it into whatever his will would have it to be.
His time, not mine.
Coburn Hoffman