That's an explanation. Ea is related to the rate constant by the Arrhenius Equation. Just because a process is spontaneous doesn't mean it will necessarily be fast. Benzene is technically thermodynamically unstable if you look at the thermodynamic data, but it's not going to suddenly decompose back into hydrogen and carbon, or at least not at an appreciable rate.
Also, if you're talking about ΔG° instead of ΔG, the concentrations of the reactants and products will drive the reaction in the direction approaching equilibirum.