In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!  . .  Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. Matthew 3:1, 2; Mark 1:14, 15 NKJV 

“Timing is everything” is an expression used to say that if something is meant to happen it will at the right time and for the right purpose. Both John the Baptist and Jesus preached in their respective ministries that the kingdom of God is at hand—a present reality—not for another time or for another people. In the kingdom, God is an on-time God, and timing is everything.

Time is defined as a moment, minute, hour, day, month, year or years, as indicated by a clock or calendar. Over time, there is a tendency is ask oneself how long before something comes to pass or the blessing is manifested? When will it happen for me?

Consider the promise that God made to Abraham that a covenant son would be born unto him and his wife Sarah. For twenty-five years Abraham believed God’s promise, but timing was everything. In Genesis chapter 18, the Lord and two angels visited Abraham in the plains of Mamre, and the Lord reiterated the promise by saying, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”  Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.  Therefore Sarah laughed within herself . . .  and the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old? Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (Gen. 18:10-14).  For Abraham and Sarah, timing was everything; nine months later, the promised son (Isaac) was born.

If it’s meant to happen it will, according to God’s purpose and will, His desire and pleasure; whether it’s an open door, an opportunity, a job or business, marriage or pregnancy, or ministry, etc. Everything that happens in life is based on timing, e.g., sunrises, sunsets, day and night, and seasons. Timing is everything!

In the text above, Jesus’ public ministry began only when John’s ministry ended. Jesus, the Lamb of God (John 1:29; Rev. 13:8), in time, He had to first be water baptized, filled with the Holy Ghost, and be led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. Jesus’ ministry increased and John’s decreased (John 1:26, 27, 30). Life has a time-table for all things, but in the kingdom of God, God has a prophetic time-table based on eternity not chronology. Jesus operated on God’s prophetic time-table. Timing was everything!

Both the earthly time-table and prophetic time-table have timelines that includes endings and new beginnings and an exploration period in between for a moment, hour, day, month, or years. But when John’s ministry ended, Jesus’ public ministry offered the world a new beginning, and in between that which ended and the new beginning, Jesus prepared Himself. In the kingdom of God, at the appointed time, God will perfect that which concerns you according to His purpose and will, at the appointed time because timing is everything!