1 Peter 5:1-11 new realizations

So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:1-11

Gasp. This verses are directed not generically to Christian living, but addressing the relationship between the leaders and the people under them in church. I think this actually makes a lot more sense now, the call to humility, to submission of anxieties, to the resisting of the devil, to the eager expectation to be restored, confirmed, strengthened and established.

These are actually things that have a lot to do with the... often tense relationships in church.
The sort of exalting oneself over another, the resentment for authority or the belittling of those under your charge is why there is a need for much humility.
Much of this lack of humility appears to be diagnosed as arising from indignation, that is why the assurance is that "God exalts you at the proper time", "cast your cares on him because he cares for you".
I suppose the devil is prowling around, watching for prideful people to devour, those who are not careful to humble themselves and who are not careful to entrust their anxieties to God.

I've never considered reading this from the position of a leader serving in church, who also, at the same time, serves under others.

Sometimes things just fly at you, sometimes it feels like people disrespect you, have no regard for you, use you, patronise you with empty words.
Sometimes you feel frustrated because you feel like you cannot handle the things thrown at you. You feel like there is no basis to the confidence that others have about you, instead it feels like they're just carelessly assigning it to you so that they can get things over and done with.

In times like these, Peter tells you, the leader, to be watchful because the Devil is on the prowl. You ought to humble yourself, consider the sufferings of others and realise that yours is not that extraordinary, entrust your cares to God and believe that although you will suffer, he will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you.