Have you ever heard of the song, “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” by Simon and Garfunkel? This popular song, which won several Grammy Awards, has much to say about finding hope against life’s most difficult trials, including cancer.

I was reminded of this recently as I lay in a hospital bed after surgery to remove cancer.

I have been hospitalized several times in the past few years, but this one was particularly crushing as I contemplated all the uncertainties that cancer creates.

These lyrics came to mind:

“When you’re weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all
I’m on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.”

I have loved these words ever since I first heard them. But they became even more meaningful to me recently when I researched more about their formation.

Background of the song

Paul Simon had never written gospel music, but he had been listening to one particular song over and over, called Mary Don’t You Weep. Each night after work he would play it.[ii] And it was one line in that song that prompted “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

That line was, “I’ll be your bridge over deep water if you trust in My name.”

And as a hymn, Paul Simon wrote these lyrics:

“When you’re down and out
When you’re on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
I’ll take your part, oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.”

The interview

In an interview, Paul Simon explained the peculiar way “Bridge Over Troubled Water” came together.

He said he usually takes a long time to write lyrics. However, for this song, he said:

“I have no idea where it came from. It just came all of a sudden. One minute it wasn’t there and the next minute the whole line was there. It was one of the most shocking moments in my songwriting career.

At the time I remember thinking, ‘This is considerably better than I usually write. But that’s how fast it came.’”[iii]

Timely words

I’m sharing this because as I laid in the hospital bed these song lyrics from Bridge Over Troubled Water describe my encounter with God.

“When you’re weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all, all
I’m on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can’t be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.”

As I lay in my hospital bed, now facing cancer and the surgery that was coming, I recalled a recent conversation I had with a friend, Linda.

She has been fighting cancer for over three years. It’s just one heart-crushing pet scan after another, one more night in pain. One more clinical trial that doesn’t work.

Recently I asked her how, amidst deep suffering, she finds hope and peace to carry her through.

She said, “I don’t have the strength to find it.” And I thought to myself, “Neither do I.”

So I asked God, “How can Linda and I muster the strength to find hope while enduring this?”

The answer I heard in my inner being surprised me:

“YOU CAN’T. You cannot muster up enough determination or grit to give you the strength to hope. Not on your own.”

A continued conversation

I continued talking to God. “Well God, what then am I supposed to do? I’m trapped in my despair and drained by pain medicine and shattered hopes. What must I do?”

God responded, “Cross the bridge to hope. I am the bridge over your troubled waters. Call out to Me and trust me as your Savior and you will find unexplainable, inexpressible hope and joy. And no matter what lies ahead, I will be with you.”

I’ve known Jesus for many years in my life. I knew this to be true of him.

Jesus is that friend, that hope and power for all who suffer. Let him encourage you and be there with you.

Let me share a little background about how Jesus has become our bridge over troubled water.

Jesus lays himself down

Numerous times, while he was on earth, Jesus publicly stated that he would be crucified, then rise from the dead three days later. He knew his arrest was imminent.

This was all recorded in detail in the book of Matthew (one of the four main stories in the Bible about Jesus).

Jesus knew he was about to be beaten, whipped, and then laid down on a cross of wood, his wrists and feet nailed to it, and he would hang there until death.

However, what seemed like senseless suffering was a plan—a plan to free people from their sins and give them peace with God.

Indeed, Jesus laid himself down—to die humbly on a wooden cross for you and for me.

As a result, we can experience the hope and peace he offers, even when all around us is anything but peaceful. He became our bridge to God.

I’m not sure if Paul Simon meant all that I am saying, but some of the parallels about Jesus are hard to ignore. It’s also clear that the song that inspired the song (“Mary Don’t You Weep,” by Claude Jeter) did, in fact, point to a similar conclusion as mine.

Questions about suffering

When you face suffering, how do you get through it? How do you stay short of total despair? Some of us think we have the answer, until a crushing circumstance robs us of all hope.

There is a reliable way.

During my painful ordeals, including my most recent hospitalization, God responded to me with a sense of his presence that deeply changed how I endured the suffering.

God wants you to know that he can be there with you, too.

Don’t suffer alone

If you are suffering, you need not suffer alone. The greatest healer that has ever lived—Jesus Christ—is waiting to comfort you, to stand beside you as he did me, to comfort you in the long, dark night.

Receive his comfort, you who suffer. There is a bridge over these troubled waters. It has been built by Jesus.

Jesus assured us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”[iv]

A simple prayer

Many people don’t ask God for help because they don’t know how to pray or have never started a personal relationship with God. They have no idea how to receive this kind of help from God.

God’s peace is available, but we must ask.

God is waiting for you to pray. He is standing at the door of your life and knocking. He will not come in unless we open the door—but if we do, he will fully accept us, forgive us, and we become his child.

Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him…”[v]

The specific words you use to talk to God do not matter. However, you could say:

“God, I’m opening the door. I need your help. I’ve never been so in need of help, so secretly afraid of what I’m facing. You are the Creator. I want you to be my God and to know you. Come into my life right now as you promised you would. Thank you for giving me this relationship with you. Help me grow to know you more.” 

Next steps

If you asked Jesus into your life, this is just the start of your relationship with him.

Jesus said, “whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”[vi] If you opened your heart to him just now, he views this as an ongoing relationship between you and him.

Just like any other relationship, yours with God will grow as you get to know him better. To do that, I’d encourage you to click on the link below, “I just asked Jesus into my life (some helpful information follows)…”

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I just asked Jesus into my life (some helpful information follows)…
I may want to as Jesus into my life, please explain this more fully…
I have a question or comment

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Note: We are not doctors and we cannot answer your medical questions. However, we welcome your questions about finding hope and knowing God.

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Footnotes: [i] https://lyrics.lyricfind.com/lyrics/simon-garfunkel-bridge-over-troubled-water [ii] https://youtu.be/8uZgcz_WlAA?si=o3Wlk766q6fSkWz_ [iii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uZgcz_WlAA [iv] John 14:27 [v] Revelation 3:20 [vi] John 6:37

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