Many saints have done the same thing. I have known more people than I like to think about, who are utterly smug in their sin. Then, there was a great crisis, and they were snatched from the powers of darkness. They were brought into the glorious light and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and made to be a partaker of His divine nature. Every good and perfect gift was theirs, and all things that were Christ's were theirs. He was the Lord and the King of their lives.
However, they began to look at the world, and they started lusting and craving. Unholy appetites were born inside of them, and they gave place to that inner longing. Then, one morning, they got up and said, "I no longer want Jesus to be King of my life. I no longer want to be subjugated to Him. I no longer want to be under His authority." Thus, like the children of Israel, they dethroned Almighty God as their King.
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There is a name for this, Little Children; it is called backsliding. The people said to Samuel, "We want to be like all the other nations. We want to be like the world; we want what they have; we are tired of being different. Give us a king." Do you know that an incredible thing happened? God Almighty condescended; He got up off his holy righteous throne; He took off his kingly apparel and gave Israel a fleshly king. He stepped down; the people rejected him, but the Lord did not reject His people. He did not turn His back on them. He kept on loving; He kept on calling; He kept asking to be their King again.
Even today, the Lord Jesus is still trying to get on the throne of many hearts where He once sat. He is trying to get His rightful place of preeminence back, possibly in your life. Do you know that when you get out from the authority of Almighty God, you immediately get subjugated to the authority of men, and many times, that can be hell on earth? Now, get this — when Israel had the Lord as her king, He fought her battles. But when Israel demanded and got an earthly king, he sent the nations to fight His battles.
It is the same today. When the Lord Jesus sits enthroned upon our lives, then John says, in his epistle, "We have an able advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous," Who pleads our cause; Who defends us; Who fights our battles; Who is our shield, and buckler, and defender. When you get out from under the cover of His kingship, you become your own advocate. Usually you wind up fighting not only your own battles, but also someone else's. The people of God said, "We want our own king. We want to be like the other nations." And the Lord, in His benevolent mercy, in His unending love, consented.