Planned austerity measures and "anger at Wall Street elite" have triggered protests throughout Europe and the United States. In America, the "Occupy Wall Street" movement quickly grew into rage against what is seen as corrupt capitalism, called by some "a foul stench in our society" (Reuters, November 18, 2011). Much  as  European austerity protests spread from nation to nation, the U.S. protests quickly spread from New York to other cities, including Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Portland, Oakland and Seattle. The disorder has forced already financially hard-pressed city governments to pay over ten million dollars in police overtime, and city services (ABC News, November 17, 2011).

As 2012 gets under way, the European Union is facing unprecedented uncertainty and upheaval. The governments and peoples of Europe have become mired in social, political and economic distress that is throwing the future of the EU into crisis. Already the world outside Europe is feeling the effects, as national banks have flooded world markets with dollar liquidity, hoping to stave off global economic collapse.

In his famous book, Man's Search for Meaning, Dr. Viktor Frankl, a survivor of Nazi concentration camps, wrote of his horrific experiences during World War II. Frankl, a psychiatrist by profession, approached his imprisonment with a scientist's analytical mind. He observed that those prisoners who had a clear goal, or a cause greater than themselves, were the ones most likely to carry on and survive—even in the midst of sadistic brutality and cruel deprivation. Those without such a purpose were most likely to perish. Frankl concluded that, as the philosopher Nietzsche observed, "He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how."

The dream of an ancient Babylonian king sheds light on end-time Bible prophecies coming together right now in Europe and the Middle East!

Do you feel you lack the strength to change your life? Here are tools to help you develop the physical and spiritual determination to become the person God wants you to be!