The pasuk in Shemos (19:2) states: ‘And they traveled from Refidim and they came to the desert of Sinai…and Yisroel camped there opposite the mountain.’ The Me’or Vashemesh quotes Sefarim Hakedoshim who write that this verse is a hint to the spiritual levels that Klal Yisroel rose to in the desert. He says that when the yeitzer hara attempts to persuade a person to veer from the proper path, it begins by convincing him to ‘take it easy’. It makes a person lazy, which causes him not to get up enthusiastically in the morning to begin a new day of serving Hashem. This leads to bitul Torah, and once one isn’t learning Torah, he is in danger of falling to severe transgressions.
Therefore, the most important way to combat the yeitzer hara is to embrace the middah of zerizus. One should push himself to learn Torah and serve Hashem enthusiastically, which will protect him for falling prey to desires to sin.
Accordingly, the pasuk that says that they traveled ‘from Refidim’ can be understood to be saying that they went away from ‘ripui yadayim’ – laziness. Once they did this, ‘they camped by Har Sinai’, meaning that they were able to immerse themselves in Torah.