Wisdom for the Journey: How Young Adults Can Pursue Calling with Confidence

By Jonathan Brush

We live in a world that is flooded with information but starving for wisdom. This is especially true for young adults facing big questions about their future. What should I do with my life? What career should I pursue? How do I know what God is calling me to?

In a recent episode of the Unbound Podcast, I had the chance to sit down with my friend Justin McGeary to talk about this very issue. We explored the vital distinction between information and wisdom, and why pursuing wisdom is essential for any young person trying to live a meaningful, purposeful life. In this article, I want to highlight a few of the key ideas from that conversation and offer a framework for how students and young professionals can begin seeking wisdom in their own journeys.

The Information Problem

We live in the most informed generation in human history. You can search the internet and find answers to almost any question. But that doesn’t mean those answers are helpful. It doesn’t mean they’re true. It certainly doesn’t mean they’re wise.

Wisdom is not just knowledge. It’s not even just discernment. Wisdom is the ability to live well in the real world, over time, under the authority of God. It’s lived truth.

When students graduate high school, they are immediately inundated with decisions. College or gap year? What major? Which job? Should I start a business? Should I take that internship? What if I make the wrong choice?

These are not questions that information alone can solve. They require wisdom.

The Problem with Looking for Answers

One of the biggest misconceptions students have is thinking they need to find the answer.

They ask questions like:

• What am I supposed to do with my life?
• What job should I pursue?
• What is my calling?

These aren’t bad questions, but they reflect an “answers-based paradigm” that is not particularly helpful. It leads to pressure, anxiety, and paralysis. The reality is that most people don’t receive a lightning bolt moment where their entire future becomes clear.

Instead, we need to shift from an answers-based mindset to a questions-based paradigm.

The Power of Asking Questions

At Unbound, we teach students to ask better questions. Instead of obsessing over the final answer, we encourage them to ask:

• What is the next best step?
• What do I already know about myself, my values, my interests?
• What opportunities are currently available to me?
• What kind of person am I becoming?

This shift from answers to questions is subtle but powerful. It puts students in a posture of humility, curiosity, and growth. It gives them a framework for progress instead of a demand for perfection.

And most importantly, it opens them up to wisdom.

Wisdom Comes Through Community

You don’t pursue wisdom alone. One of the best ways to grow in wisdom is by surrounding yourself with people who have it.

This is one of the reasons we designed Ascend the way we did. Students don’t just take online courses and disappear into isolation. They are placed into teams. They are connected with mentors. They have access to leaders and professionals who are living examples of what wisdom looks like in real life.

In our conversation, Justin pointed out how often we’re tempted to look for isolated, individualistic answers. But in Scripture, wisdom is relational. It is passed down. It is discovered in community. Proverbs is full of language like “listen to advice,” “walk with the wise,” and “heed instruction.”

Young adults need access to wise voices. And they need to learn how to ask wise questions of those voices.

Wisdom Is Slow and Steady

Here’s something that isn’t very popular in a fast-paced, instant-answer culture: wisdom takes time.

You don’t microwave wisdom. You don’t binge a course or listen to a podcast and become wise overnight. It comes through consistent effort, reflection, and relationship.

Wisdom is built when you:

• Reflect on your experiences
• Learn from your mistakes
• Ask for feedback
• Listen more than you speak
• Read deeply and think critically
• Submit to God’s Word and God’s people

As Justin and I talked about on the podcast, wisdom is often revealed in hindsight. You don’t always see what God is doing in the moment, but over time, you begin to trace the thread of His faithfulness. You begin to recognize how each step prepared you for the next.

That’s why the question, “What’s next?” is so important. Not “What’s everything?” Just: What’s next?

Wisdom and Calling

So how does wisdom connect to calling?

Many young adults feel like discovering their calling is a mystical experience. They wait for a divine whisper or a sudden epiphany. But more often than not, calling is something we grow into through faithful decision-making and intentional living.

Calling is not just about what job you take. It’s about who you become.

When students pursue wisdom, they start to:

• Identify their God-given gifts
• Clarify their values and priorities
• Recognize the needs of the world around them
• Understand the role of service and stewardship

And as they keep asking the right questions, the path becomes clearer. Maybe not all at once. But step by step.

A Better Way Forward

At Unbound, we believe in training young adults to thrive. Not just to succeed by the world’s standards, but to live lives of purpose, resilience, and wisdom.

That’s why we built Ascend. It’s not a traditional education model. It’s a framework for personal growth and leadership development. And at its core, it is deeply committed to helping students pursue wisdom.

We don’t promise easy answers. But we do promise the tools, the training, and the community that will equip you to take the next step with confidence.

If you want to explore this topic more, I encourage you to check out my full conversation with Justin McGeary on the Unbound Podcast.

🎧 Listen to the full episode

Or learn more about Ascend at beunbound.us/ascend